Supreme Court agrees to hear review petitions on Sabarimala verdict on 22 January after refusing to hear fresh pleas today

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear review petitions seeking a recall of its 28 September verdict that revoked the ban on the entry of women of menstruating age inside the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Kerala’s Sabarimala. The court, which agreed to hold an open-court hearing, will hear the review petitions on 22 January.

A five-judge bench  heard in-chamber a batch of 48 petitions seeking review of the judgment at 3 pm on Tuesday. The bench comprised Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra.

“All the review petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in open court on 22 January, 2019 before the appropriate bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this Court dated 28 September, 2018 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association and others versus The State of Kerala and others),” the order said.

In the in-chamber proceedings, the judges examine the review petitions by circulation and lawyers are not present.

The decision comes just days before the temple will open for monthly prayers on 17 November.

Earlier on Tuesday, the court made it clear that fresh pleas related to its Sabarimala verdict will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking a review of the judgment allowing entry of women of all age groups into the shrine.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court  took suo motu cognisance of the violence during the Sabarimala protests and initiated proceedings based on the Kerala Police’s report on the incidents. It sought an explanation from the Travancore Dewaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.

On 9 October, the Supreme Court had  declined an urgent hearing  of the review plea filed by the National Ayyappa Devotees Association, which had contended that the five-judge constitution bench’s verdict lifting the ban was “absolutely untenable and irrational”.

The top court verdict had triggered violent protests at the base camps near the Sabarimala hill shrine, as devotees and several Hindu outfits had blocked women from entering the temple when it opened for monthly prayers in October.

At least a dozen women in the 10 to 50 age group had made a failed attempt to trek up the hills due to the protests.

With inputs from agencies