The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered open court hearing in all the 49 review petitions relating to the Sabarimala Temple issue.
Several petitions seeking review of the judgment were filed in the apex court after a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict On September 28, had paved the way for the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple saying the ban amounted to gender discrimination.
The court will hear on Jan 22 petitions seeking review of Sabarimala judgement. However, it said that there will be no stay on its verdict which allowed entry of women of all age groups in Sabarimala Temple
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court made it clear that fresh pleas relating to the Sabarimala Temple will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking review of the judgement allowing entry of women of all age groups into the shrine in Kerala.
The top court had on October 9 declined an urgent hearing on the review plea filed by an association which had contended that the five-judge Constitution bench's verdict lifting the ban was "absolutely untenable and irrational".
A plea filed by the National Ayyappa Devotees Association (NADA), which has sought review of the verdict, had said,"The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary, one which removes the stigma or the concept of dirt or pollution associated with menstruation, is unfounded."
"It is a judgment welcomed by hypocrites who were aspiring for media headlines. On the merits of the case, as well, the said judgment is absolutely untenable and irrational, if not perverse," it had said.
Besides the association, several other petitions, including one by the Nair Service Society (NSS), have been filed against the apex court verdict.
The NSS had said in the plea that as the deity is a 'Naistika Brahmachari', females below the age of 10 and after the age of 50 years are eligible to worship him and there is no practice of excluding worship by females.