Courts not experts in faith, says seers’ body, seeks to intervene in Sabarimala case

Courts should not determine essential religious practices as they are a matter of faith held to be sacred by the followers of a religion, the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti has told the Supreme Court while seeking to intervene in the upcoming Sabarimala review proceedings.

A nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant is set to commence the final hearing on April 7 on petitions relating to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, and on the ambit and scope of the religious freedom practised by multiple faiths.

In September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench had, by a 4:1 majority verdict, lifted a ban that prevented females between the ages of 10 and 50 years from entering the Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala and held that the centuries-old Hindu religious practice was illegal and unconstitutional.