THE SABARIMALA JUDGEMENT, LORD AYYAPPA, AND LAW

BACKGROUND

The issue of women's entry to the Sabarimala Temple has been a burning topic for decades. Women under the age of 10-50 have not been allowed to enter the temple due to prevailing customary practices and the celibacy of the deity residing in the temple. Women under the age of 10 to 50 have always contended that the age-old customary practice of not allowing women of a certain age to enter in Sabarimala temple is discriminatory and violates their constitutional rights or fundamental right to liberty and equality, in particular. In 1990, for the first time, this issue reached the Kerala High Court and it was contended that the court must allow the female devotees to enter the temple. But Kerala High Court judgment was not in favour of female devotees and received criticism for not upholding the rights of women. Later in 2006, six female members of the Indian Young Lawyers’ Association filed a petition in the Supreme Court to declare the age-old customary practice as discriminatory and violative of their constitutional rights and the court shall lift the ban on the entry of women between the age of 10 to 50 at the Sabarimala Temple. After 12 years, in 2018, the Supreme Court held that all women of any age group could enter the temple. Soon after the judgment was delivered, a review petition, along with several writ petitions, was filed before the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court and the judgment must be reviewed by the constitutional bench of not less than seven judges. The petition was accepted and the matter was referred to the larger bench of seven judges. This larger bench will not only consider the entry of women to Sabarimala temple but also the entry of Muslim women into Dargahs/Mosques, the customary practice of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra Community, and the practice of marriage of Parsi women to a non-Parsi into the holy fireplace of Agyar. The hearings before the larger bench are yet to commence.

THE HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE AND THE DEITY

The Sabarimala temple, devoted to the Lord Ayyappa, is one of the prominent ancient Hindu temples, which is located at Periyar tiger reserve in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. This temple is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites for Hindus but it is open to people of all faiths. Lord Ayyappa9 is a celibate and to show respect for his celibate nature, several practices have been established, one of which is to prohibit women of menstruating age from entering the premises of the temple. The limitation on women entering the temple can be traced back to a tradition that the temple's god, Lord Ayyapa, was a 'Naishtika Brahmachari' (who followed celibacy). The important point is that he doesn’t restrict all the women, but only those, who are menstruating or are in the age group of 10 to 50. Any girl below the age of 10 and any women above the age of 50 are allowed to visit there and no such restrictions are imposed upon them. Every year millions of female devotees, who are not in the age group of 10 to 50, visit there and Lord Ayyappa blesses them. Also, the customs, traditions, and practices of the temple suggest that Lord Ayyappa only asks the female devotees, of age group 10 to 50, to not visit the temple and that his blessings always remain with them. In ancient texts also, it is given that once the period of menstruation is over, the female devotees go to the temple and seek the blessings of Lord Ayyappa. One such custom, that applies to male devotees, who want to see Lord Ayyapppan is that they must purify themselves physically and mentally by observing 41 days of "Vritham" and during this time, male devotees must abstain from eating non-vegetarian food, drinking alcohol, and having any contact with women. Furthermore, devotees wear black clothes and do not shave in order to be identified as devotees of Sri Ayyapan during the 41 days of "Vritham," also known as "KanniAyyapppan”. The temple does not admit women of menstruating age because they would disturb the deity's celibacy and they shall respect his celibacy and decision.

KERALA HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT

In S. Mahendran v The Secretary, Travancore Devaswom Board, Thiruvananthapuram & Ors., S. Mahendran was a petitioner and alleged that women between the age of 10 to 50 were visiting the temple and the court shall ban the entry and impose legal restrictions. After taking everything into due consideration, the Kerala High Court banned the entry of women and laid down in its judgment that such age-old restrictions are in accordance with long-standing customs. Further, giving a reasoned judgment, the court held that the Devaswom Board's restriction on women's entry is not in violation of Articles 15, 25, and 26 of the Indian Constitution. Such a restriction is also not in violation of the provisions of the Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorization of Entry) Act, 1965, because there is no restriction in the matter of entry to a temple between one section and another or between one class and another among Hindus, whereas the prohibition is only in respect of women of a specific age group and not women as a class.

THE SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT

When the matter reached the Supreme Court, the court took a divergent view and held that such discriminatory behavior violates a woman's right to visit and enter a temple in order to freely practice Hinduism and express her devotion to Lord Ayyappa. Women's right to worship is severely harmed when this right is denied to them. The verdict was passed with a 4-1 majority and the majority judgment based its decision on the violation of Article 25 (Clause 1) and Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Worship Act. Despite being the only judge to dissent, Justice Indu Malhotra’s separate reason-based judgment attracted appraisal from a wide section of society. According to Justice Malhotra, every person shall be allowed to practice and profess their faith irrespective of whether the practice is rational or logical. It is considered to be an irony that both the majority and minority judgments were based on the same principles of law still their stand or judgment was contradicting each other. Both the judgment cited morality as the basis but took a divergent view on the same issue.

CONFLICT OF LAW AND RELIGION

The Sabarimala judgment sparked a larger debate between law and religion and which one shall prevail when the conflict arises. Both sides wanted to enforce their fundamental rights under Article 25(1) i.e., the Right to freely profess, practice, and propagate one’s religion. The temple authorities were seeking protection under Article 25 and that the practice constitutes an essential element of the rituals. The majority judgment relied on the fact that the temple or its devotees do not constitute a religious denomination and they cannot seek protection under Article 26. What constitutes a religious denomination? To what extent can the judiciary exercise its power to negate essential religious practices? Should the Judiciary create a new phenomenon that did not exist earlier, such as “Constitutional Morality”? Did the court take a narrow view or wider view, while deciding on the matter? Majority judgment or Minority judgment, which judgment was more reason-based, rational, and logical? Perhaps, many more questions arose after the judgment and the larger bench will, certainly, consider these questions and it’s possible that the outcome of this case may come in favor of Lord Ayyappa.

CONCLUSION

The concept of equality, the conflict between law and religion, and Judicial Activism are widening their scope from time to time. Their horizon will continue to increase but the Judiciary will have to exercise judicial restraint as well. Different notions of morality, customs, and religious practices prevail in society but the concept of “Constitutional Morality” may hurt many things because the Judiciary is exercising Judicial activism to the extent that there is no scope for judicial restraint whatsoever. India, being a constitutional democracy, must establish the supremacy of the Constitution but at the same time, it shall preserve the essential religious practices of every religion. Supremacy of law must prevail but customs too must be given due importance. It must be taken into consideration whether any discrimination is a perpetual or partial one and if it is not perpetual then the customary practice must prevail.

Write a comment ...

Write a comment ...

Shubham srivastav

I’m a law student who writes about India—its roots, rules, and everything in between. Sharing thoughts that matter for India’s future.