Sabarimala order will continue, no stay, SC reiterates

New Delhi, Nov 14: An oral plea seeking a stay on the Sabarimala verdict has been rejected by the Supreme Court. The plea was made a day after the court decided to review its verdict in the case.

The plea was made before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India. The CJI, Ranjan Gogoi said that whatever order has been passed regarding Sabarimala will continue. Wait until January 22, when the review petitions will be heard in open court, the CJI said.

Advocate Nedumpara had orally mentioned before the Bench seeking a stay on the verdict. He said that there was no positive order in the September 28 verdict which allowed the entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala.

On Tuesday, the court had decided to hear in open court all the 49 review petitions that challenged the decision of the court allowing entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple. The decision was taken in the chambers of the Chief Justice, who along with four other judges studied the reviews. The review pleas would now be heard in open court on January 22 2019.

The court however did not stay its earlier order passed on September 28, in which it had allowed the entry of women of all age groups into the temple.

On January 22, the court will decide on whether to admit the 49 review petitions or not. The Kerala government on the other hand which has vowed to implement the verdict said that it has not yet decided on what to do. It would take a call after reading today's verdict, the government has said.

On September 28, a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, had paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple saying that the ban amounted to gender discrimination.