The Supreme Court on Friday declined to pass any order related to allowing women to enter Kerala's Sabarimala temple. The decision came in response to pleas filed by two women who sought protection to enter the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, said that the court has referred the matter to a larger bench and it won't be appropriate to pass an order now. "The court does not want to instigate violence as the situation at the moment is explosive. The law and order situation may be compromised if the court rules in favour of the petition" he stated.
The top court also observed that the issue is an emotive one and might turn into 'explosive'.
"The tradition has continued there for 1000 years. Balance of conveniences requires that order should not be passed in your favour now. Deployment of police in the temple isn't a very good thing either," said Justice Bobde, in a response to the pleas filed by Rehna Fathima and Bindu Ammani, seeking entry in the temple.
The CJI also noted that the Supreme Court judgement that arrived last year isn't the final decision as the matter has already been referred to a seven-judge bench.
The Temple was opened on November 16 for its annual 41-day pilgrimage amid a heavy presence of security personnel.
On November 14, the top court in a 3:2 verdict said the review petitions against the entry of women between 10-15 years of age in Sabarimala temple has been referred to a larger 7-judge bench.
Speaking on the matter, the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi said, "entry of women into places of worship is not limited to this temple (Sabarimala) only. It is also involved in the entry of women into mosques. Entry of Muslim women in mosques, Parsi women case and Dawoodi Bora case are also similar to issues in Sabrimala review petition."
In a historic judgement, the apex court in 2018 allowed entry of women of all ages to the temple, which angered some devotees of the celibate God. Though the court referred the matter to a seven-member bench last year, it did not stay the 2018 verdict.
