Kerala govt defends Sabarimala Temple's ban on women of menstrual age

The Kerala government on Friday told the Supreme Court that beliefs and customs of devotees cannot be changed through a judicial process and that "the opinion of the priests is final" in matters of religion, reports The Indian Express. The government was defending the ban on women of menstrual age visiting the Sabarimala Temple.

In its arguments, the Kerala government said that the fundamental right to equality cannot be applied in this case because it involves an essential and integral part of practicing religion, which includes the "right to exclude persons".

"In the context of Sabarimala, the administration vests with the Travancore Devaswom Board under the provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950," the government counsel argued. "Under the Act, there is a statutory duty cast on the Board to arrange worship in temples in accordance with the usage. Therefore, in matters of religion, it is the opinion of the priests that is final."

The Congress-led government also aims to reverse a stand on the issue taken in 2007 by the earlier Left Democratic Front (LDF) government when it filed an affidavit stating that "it is not fair to deny a section of women from entering Sabarimala temple" and proposed appointing a committee of scholars to help make the change.