The Supreme Court on Tues-day agreed to hear in opencourt review petitionsagainst its majority judg-ment which lifted a ban onwomen aged between 10 and50 years from undertakingthe pilgrimage to the Sabari-mala temple in Kerala.

The review petitions willbe heard by an “appropriateBench” in open court on Ja-nuary 22, next year.

Majority ruling holdsThe Review Bench of fi��vejudges, led by Chief Justice ofIndia Ranjan Gogoi, howev-er, refused to stay the major-ity judgment by a Constitu-tion Bench on September 28.The majority judgment haddeclared the exclusion, sole-ly based on the menstrualstatus of women, to be asmear on individual dignity.It said the bar amounted to

“treating women as the chil-dren of a lesser God”.

The refusal to stay thejudgment would mean thatworshippers, both men andwomen of all ages, can stillundertake the pilgrimagewhen the temple re-openson November 16 evening forMandala Pooja.

The pilgrimage season

would end on January 20 af-ter the Makaravilakku festiv-al.

Impact on season“The order of the court to ex-amine its judgment is a posi-tive step. But there are ap-prehensions that the reviewpetitions would become in-fructuous once women aged

between 10 and 50 enter thetemple this pilgrimage sea-son,” Supreme Court advo-cate Usha Nandini, one ofthe 49 review petitioners,reacted.

Advocate G. Prakash, whorepresents the Kerala go-vernment in the issue, saidthe Bench has only taken aprima facie decision to hear

the review petitions in opencourt. “It has not issued not-ice. On January 22, the sameReview Bench will hear thepetitioners and decidewhether their pleas shouldbe admitted or not,” he said.

SC refuses to stay Sabarimala rulingReview pleas to be heard on Jan. 22; women of all age groups can visit the shrine this pilgrim season Krishnadas RajagopalNEW DELHI

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