New Delhi, April 9 Everyone should have access to all temples and "maths," and excluding a particular denomination will negatively affect Hinduism and divide society, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.
The remark came from a nine-judge bench of the Constitution bench while hearing petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, and on the scope and extent of religious freedom practiced by multiple faiths.
The bench comprises Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan, and Joymalya Bagchi.
Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for organizations including the Nair Service Society, Ayyappa Seva Samajam, and Kshetra Samrakshana Samiti, argued that a denominational temple can grant exclusive rights and allow worship or restrict it only to the particular denomination.
At this point, Justice Nagarathna remarked, "There is one concern. If you say that the right of entry, in the context of Venkataramana Devaru, where it was stated that anyone other than the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin is excluded, will negatively affect Hinduism."
She added, "Everyone should have access to every temple and math. Setting aside the controversy in the Sabarimala judgment. But if you say that it is a practice and that it is a matter of religion that I will exclude others and only my section, my denomination will attend the temple and no one else, that is not good for Hinduism. Let the religion not be adversely affected. It would be counterproductive for the denomination."
Agreeing, Justice Kumar said that such exclusion would divide society.
Vaidyanathan argued that if temples serve only their denomination, they cannot seek funds from the state, private donors, or the public, as they would not be dependent on them.
If a law is to be made, it must pass the test of public order, morality, or health, he asserted.
In the Devaru judgment, the top court upheld the Madras Temple Entry Authorization Act, affirming that while the temple remains open to all Hindus, certain ceremonial practices reserved for the Gowda Saraswath Brahmins are constitutionally permissible.
The nine-judge bench has framed seven questions on the scope of religious freedom.
In September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench, by a 4:1 majority verdict, lifted a ban that prevented women aged between 10 and 50 from entering the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in Kerala, and held that the centuries-old Hindu religious practice was illegal and unconstitutional.
Later, on November 14, 2019, another five-judge bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi, by a majority of 3:2, referred the issue of discrimination against women at various places of worship to a larger bench.
The bench framed broad issues on freedom across religions, saying that they cannot be decided without any specific facts of the case.
