In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court allowed entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. Earlier, women in the age group of 10 to 50 were banned from entering the temple on the ground of menstruation. A five judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra delivered the verdict.
Interestingly the lone woman in the bench Justice Indu Malhotra was the sole dissenter to the majority judgement. The verdict held that ban on entry of women into the shrine was gender discriminatory and also constituted violation of the rights of Hindu women. Women are in no way inferior to men said the Chief Justice. While on one hand women are worshipped as goddesses, on the other hand, there are restrictions put on their relationship with God. Women activists have hailed this verdict.
