Sabarimala: The annual pilgrimage season saw violent protests as devotees of Lord Ayyappa.
Four months after it allowed women of reproductive age entry into the Sabarimala temple, the Supreme Court today heard review petitions challenging its September verdict. After the hearing, a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi reserved the verdict in 65 petitions including 56 review petitions and 4 fresh writ petitions in the Sabarimala temple case.
In a U-turn, the board controlling the Sabarimala temple told the Supreme Court today that it supports the entry of women of all ages at Kerala's famous hill shrine. The board is controlled by the Kerala government, which has opposed any review of the top court's September order that opened the temple doors to women between the ages of 10 and 50 and set off a huge backlash.
The annual pilgrimage season saw violent protests recently as devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the celibate god, tried to stop women and girls between the ages of 10 and 50 years from entering the shrine.
One of the two women who eventually managed to enter the temple in January was even attacked allegedly by her mother-in-law.
The issue has also triggered a political slugfest between Kerala's CPM and the opposition parties, including the BJP and the Congress.