The Supreme Court of India has constituted a nine-judge constitutional bench to hear the review petitions arising out of the landmark 2018 Sabarimala judgment. The bench is scheduled to commence hearings from April 7, 2026.
The 2018 majority verdict by a five-judge bench had held that the practice of prohibiting women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the Sabarimala temple was unconstitutional, violating their right to equality and the right to freely practise religion.
Background of the Case
Following the 2018 verdict, a large volume of review petitions were filed challenging the ruling, along with a reference order by a subsequent bench. The matter was referred to a larger bench given its constitutional importance.
"The questions involved touch upon the interplay between religious denomination rights, essential religious practices, and fundamental rights of individuals," the reference order had noted.
The nine-judge bench will examine several constitutional questions including the scope of right to religion under Article 25, whether a religious denomination can restrict entry to its place of worship, and the extent to which courts can examine essential religious practices.
Significance
The outcome of the Sabarimala review is expected to have far-reaching implications not just for the temple's entry rules, but for similar matters involving other religious institutions across the country. Legal experts have called it one of the most consequential constitutional hearings of the decade.
