NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will consider fresh petitions pertaining to the entry of women into Sabarimala temple only after considering the review petitions in the issue.

The Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph heard four petitioners – G Vijayakumar, S Jaya Raj Kumar, Shylaja Vijayan, and Akhil Bharatiya Malayalee Sangh, before deferring the hearing of the same.

The Bench said that the writ petitions will be heard subject to the decision of the review petitions filed against the Sabarimala verdict.
The review petitions – forty-nine of them – will be heard on Tuesday at 3 pm in-chamber.

The writ petition and review petitions were filed after the September 28 judgment of the Supreme Court, which held that women, irrespective of their age, have the right to enter the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala.

A Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, and Indu Malhotra had, by a 4:1 majority, struck down Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965 which was the basis for barring entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 years into the temple.

The Court had held that Rule 3(b) of 1965 Rules is a clear violation of right of Hindu women to practice religion under Article 25 of the Constitution. Further, it had ruled that the bar on entry of women between age of 10 and 50 years is not an essential part of the religion.