Kerala justifies Sabarimala ban

Kerala on Friday justified in the Supreme Court the restriction on entry of women between the age of 10 and 50 in the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple and said this restriction has been prevailing since the time immemorial.

In an additional affidavit in a PIL seeking a direction to allow women of all ages, Kerala said, “Since the deity is in the form of a Naisthik Brahmachari, it is believed that young women should not offer worship in the temple so that even the slightest deviation from celibacy and austerity observed by the deity is not caused by the presence of such women.”

The petition, which comes up for further hearing on February 8, said discrimination in matters of entry to temples is neither a ritual nor a ceremony associated with Hindu religion. The Hindu religion does not discriminate against women.

“Rather on the other hand, as per Hindu religion women are at higher pedestal in comparison to men. Such discrimination is totally anti-Hindu. The religious denomination can only regulate the entry in the temples or restrict the entry in garb graha (sanctum sanctorum) without any discrimination where only priests could enter but cannot ban entry making discrimination on the basis of sex,” the petition said.

Kerala pointed out that lakhs of women below the age of 10 and above the age of 50 visit Sabarimala temple every year. This is in keeping with the unique pratishta sangalp or idol concept of the temple. The same is an essential and integral part of the right of practice of religion of a devotee and comes under protective guarantee of the Constitution under Articles 25 and 26 which has been held to contain a guarantee for rituals, observances, ceremonies and modes of worship.

On the petitioner’s contention that women are allowed in other Ayyappa temples like Achankoil, Aryankavu and Kulathupuzha, Kerala said the deities there are in different form.