Supreme Court to hear Sabarimala review petitions on November 13

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed the review petitions challenging the entry of women into Kerala’s Sabarimala temple for November 13, news agencies have reported. The petitions will be heard in open court.

On Monday, when Adv. Mathew Nedumpara made an oral plea on behalf of some petitioners, for listing of Sabarimala petitions, the Chief Justice said that the date of hearing will be announced Tuesday.

“We know there are 19 review petitions pending. By tomorrow we’ll decide when to list the matters”, the CJI said on Monday

The review petitions draw heavily on the dissenting judgment of Justice Indu Malhotra to contend that constitutional parameters of rationality cannot be blindly applied to the matters of faith. The review petitions also state that the Court erred in entertaining the PIL without examining the locus standi of the petitioner.

Women of menstruating age have traditionally not been allowed into the temple, but a Supreme Court order on September 28 declared that restriction null and void. Against this judgement, several review petitions were filed following the order.

The temple opened last week for the first time following the verdict. Several women who tried to enter the barred zone were prevented by those wanted to maintain the tradition of the temple, in the process creating a few tense situations. Unrelated to the conflict situation, the temple closed on Monday night after five days of monthly rituals.

Several religious outfits have been protesting against the court’s order. The state government had said it would implement the order, but was unable to do so. State units of the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party have also opposed the Supreme Court order.

The Supreme Court will consider all the petitions put together, and a judgement is expected to be issued before the mandala season.