Sabarimala Temple Verdict: a Critical Analysis

1 Sabarimala Temple Verdict: A Critical Analysis Mohit Rana* *LL.B 3rd Semester Department of Laws Panjab University 1. Introduction: The legend of Sabarimala Sri Ayyappan is engraved in the tradition and culture of Malayalee and the powerful God, Sri Ayyappan, also known as Sri Shasthav is profoundly revered as “Brahmachari” by devotees spread all over the south Indian States. Few customs of Sabarimala devotees are fierce. One such custom prohibits the entry of women inside the temple during her menstrual years of life i.e. from 10 to 50 years of age. The ban is due to the belief of devotees who consider Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of temple, to be celibate.1 One such custom applicable on male devotees who aspire for a darshan of Lord Ayyapppan has to pure themselves physically and mentally and for this they are required to keep 41 days of “vritham”2 during which male devotees have to refrain themselves from eating non vegetarian food, liquor and from making any contact with women. Further devotees wear black clothes and remain unshaven in order to be identified as devotees of Sri Ayyapan during such 41 days of “vritham” who are commonly called as “KanniAyyapppan.” The sabarimalasannidhanam (temple) is open to devotees only during mandalapooja (November to January), makaravilakku , vishu and the beginning of every month in the malayalam calendar.3 The Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala is one of the few Hindu temples in India that is open to all faiths. Here, the emphasis is on secularism and communal harmony. Sabarimala upholds the values of equality, fraternity and also the oneness of the human soul; all men, irrespective of *Mohit Rana, Student, LL.B 1st Year, Department of Laws, Panjab University Chandigarh. 1Available at https://www.ndtv.com/kerala-news/the-story-of-sabarimala-origin-beliefs-and-controversy-on-women- entry-1933477. 2 Available at http://www.sabarimalaayyappan.com/pilgrimage.htm. 3 Available at http://www.sabarimalaayyappan.com/index.htm. 2 class, creed or race are equal before Lord Ayyappan and seemingly, to drive home this fact, the pilgrims thronging the temple complex address one another as ‘Ayyappa Swami.4 The Time Honoured Practice: The temple does not open its doors for women of menstruating age as they are considered as impure by the supporters of ban and are prohibited from entering the temple on the pretext that they would disturb the celibacy of the deity. 2. Landmark Verdicts on Custom: The dispute over entry of women in the temple can be traced back to the year 1991 when the Kerala High Court in S. Mahendran v. The Secretary, Travancore5upheld the practice of banning the entry of women above the age of 10 and below the age of 50 to trek the holy hills of Sabarimala in connection with the pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple and from offering worship at Sabarimala Shrine during any period of the year. After 15 years the ban was challenged in the year 2006 claiming that prohibiting women entering a public place of worship was a “violation of ideals of equality, non-discrimination and religious freedom”. The Apex Court in Indian Young Lawyers Association &Ors. V. State of Kerela&Ors.6on October 13, 2017 referred the issue to the Constitutional Bench after framing five “significant” questions, including whether the practice of banning entry of women into the temple amounted to discrimination and violated their fundamental rights under the constitution. The Government of Kerela, which has been changing its stand on the contentious issue of woman of a particular age group entering the Sabarimala Temple on July 18 told the Supreme Court that it now favours women entry from 10-50 years of age group. It further contended that Sabarimala Temple is a public temple and this is an important determinant in adjudicating the claim of women’s entry. It was further argued that right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion is a constitutional right and restriction imposed on the entry of women aged between 10 4 Available at http://www.sabarimalaayyappan.com/temple.htm. 5AIR 1993 Kerala 42 6 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 373 OF 2006 3 and 50 years is unconstitutional.7 There are hundreds of other gods and goddesses where such rules don’t apply. There is no restriction in praying to them. Some arguments suggest menstruating women should not enter the temple because they may “pollute” the confines. This is unacceptable because there is nothing “unclean” or “impure” about a menstruating woman.8 The matter was finally decided by Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court with 4:1 judgement whereby it ruled in favour of allowing women of all ages to enter Kerala's most famous temple. Further Justice Nariman quoted that "To exclude women of the age group 10-50 from the temple is to deny dignity to women. To treat women as children of lesser god is to blink at the Constitution"9 Justice Chandrachud enunciated that "Religion cannot be used as cover to deny rights of worship to women and it is also against human dignity." "Prohibition on women is due to non- religious reasons and it is a grim shadow of discrimination going on for centuries.10 Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman on a five-judge constitutional bench in the Supreme Court dissented with the 4:1 majority verdict that declared the practice of barring entry for women in the Sabarimala temple between the ages of 10 and 50 unconstitutional. She further stated that that courts should not delve into the rationality of religious practices. Justice Malhotra argues that this article can be “invoked only by persons who are similarly situated, that is, persons belonging to the same faith, creed, or sect”; a definition that disqualifies the petitioners because they are conceived of as third-party interveners in this case. She further gave importance to the Local Rules and stated that issues of deep religious sentiments should not be ordinarily interfered by the Court. Justice Malhotra contradicts the majority judgment and sides with the Travancore Devaswom Board for upholding exclusion of women as an “essential religious practice,” thereby guaranteeing protection to this custom under Article 25. She further 7Available at https://www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Womens-Entry-into-Sabarimala- Temple.pdf. 8Available at https://www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Womens-Entry-into-Sabarimala- Temple.pdf. 9 Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sabarimala-verdict-live-updates-supreme-court-women- temples-kerala-5377598/. 10Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sabarimala-verdict-live-updates-supreme-court-women- temples-kerala-5377598/. 4 argues that the courts should not delve into the rationality of religious practices or try to determine which practices of a faith are to be struck down, except for the ones which are pernicious, oppressive, or a social evil, like Sati. 3. Concluding Remarks: Law recognises customs to be the prime most source of law and therefore should be given due importance before delivering any judgment. Justice Indu Malhotra considered the practice as essential religious practice and thereby thereby guaranteeing protection to this custom under Article 25. One of the reasons for the Revolt of 1957 was the interference of British administration in Indian customs. It is not the total restriction rather a partial one for women into their menstrual age on the ground of saving of the state of celibacy of Lord Ayyappa. Lord Ayyappa’s vow of permanent celibacy was too abstruse to compromise the absolute principles of the Constitution. The deity’s seclusion from the fertile women was an integral part of Ayyappan tradition and was unreservedly accepted by devotees including women which was finely stated by Justice Indu Malhotra by disqualifying petitioners as the third party interveners in this case.11 The complete judgement attached primacy to academic objections taken by non-devotees and completely disregards the customs established from times immemorial. ***** 11Available at https://www.epw.in/engage/article/questioning-dissenting-voice-sabarimala .

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