Which case allowed women entry into Sabarimala temple?
The case that allowed women of all ages entry into the Sabarimala temple is:
Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala (2018)
In this judgment, the Supreme Court held that:
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The ban on women aged 10–50 violated Articles 14, 15, 19, and 25.
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Women of all ages must be allowed entry into the Sabarimala temple.
(A review is pending, but the 2018 judgment remains the operative one.)
The case that allowed women entry into the Sabarimala temple was the landmark Supreme Court of India judgment delivered on September 28, 2018. In this judgment, the five-judge Constitution Bench by a 4:1 majority ruled that women of all age groups could enter the temple, effectively lifting the ban on women aged 10 to 50 years from entering the shrine. The Court held that the exclusionary practice was unconstitutional as it violated the fundamental rights to equality under Article 14 and the right to freedom of religion under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. The majority judges ruled that the ban was not an essential religious practice and that any discrimination based on biological factors like menstruation was impermissible. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, along with Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, R.F. Nariman, and D.Y. Chandrachud, formed the majority, while Justice Indu Malhotra dissented, emphasizing allowing religious practices irrespective of logic.
This ruling was a historic judgment that enabled women devotees of all ages to worship at Sabarimala, ending a decades-long prohibition rooted in tradition and purported concerns over the celibacy of Lord Ayyappa, the temple deity.
