SC to review Sabarimala verdict: Kerala CM to discuss with legal experts

Trivandrum, Nov 13: Soon after Supreme Court decided to hear in open court all the 49 review petitions, Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan responded by saying, there will be no stay on Supreme Court's order of September 28.

He told reporters, "SC has clearly said that its verdict allowing entry of women between age groups 10-50 yrs to Sabarimala Temple stands. Review petitions will be heard on Jan 22, after the 'Makaravilakku' season ends on Jan 21. Govt will discuss with legal experts and move forward."

"Protests to continue if govt trying to break the rituals,"RSS leader Valsan Thillankery said after the SC agreed to hear review pleas in Sabarimala temple case on January 22, 2019.

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.

The apex 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".

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 the ban amounted to gender discrimination.