NO STAY ON ALL WOMEN ENTRY INTO SABARI

■ Court to hear batch of review petitions in the matter on Jan. 22

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay its earlier order granting permission to women of all age groups to enter the Sabarimala temple.

New Delhi, Nov. 13: The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to stay its verdict allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple but agreed to hear in open court on January 22 a batch of review petitions in the matter.

The review petitions against the September 28 verdict were taken up ‘inchamber’ by a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices R.F . Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

“All the Review Petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in Open Court on 22nd January, 2019 before the appropriate Bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this court dated 28th September, 2018 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. vs. The State of Kerala & Ors),” the order said.

In the in-chamber proceedings, the judges examine the review petitions by circulation and lawyers are not present. There are around 48 petitions seeking review of the judgement.

Earlier in the day, the top court had made it clear that fresh pleas related to the Sabarimala Temple will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking review of the judgment allowing entry of women of all age groups into the shrine in Kerala. The bench stated this while hearing the three fresh petitions filed by G. Vijaya Kumar, S. Jaya Rajkumar and Shailaja Vijayan challenging its September 28 verdict.

On September 28, a fivejudge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, had paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple

saying the ban amounted to gender discrimination.

The top court had October 9 declined urgent hearing on on an the

review plea filed by an association which had contended that the fivejudge Constitution bench’s verdict lifting the ban was “absolutely untenable

and irrational”. A plea filed by the NADA, had said, “The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary is unfounded.” —PTI