- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 07 Apr 2026 06:50 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Supreme Court Judge BV Nagarathna on Tuesday made a strong observation while hearing the Sabrimala Temple Entry Case, saying that women can't be treated as 'untouchable' for three days (during menstruation).
Justice Nagarathana's remark was in response to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, who strongly objected to the observations made in 2018.
Appearing before a nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that an observation in the 2018 Sabarimala judgment that the exclusion of women in the age group of 10-50 years from the temple was a form of 'untouchability', violating Article 17 of the Constitution.
"Article 17, in the context of Sabarimala, I don't know how it can be argued. Speaking as a woman, there can't be a three-day untouchability every month, and on the fourth day, there is no untouchability," PTI quoted Justice Nagarathna saying.
Mehta was referring to an observation made by Justice DY Chandrachud, where he had opined that exclusion of women, based on age or menstrual status, from entering Kerala's Sabarimala temple is a form of "untouchability" which places them in a "subordinate" position, perpetuated "patriarchy" and is "derogatory" to their dignity.
Mehta argued, "India is not that patriarchal or gender stereotyped in the way that the West understands."
At the outset, Mehta submitted before the nine-judge bench that the unnecessary doctrine of essential religious practices was introduced, but the question is how to decide what is essential is the question.
"It is a matter of faith. It is a matter of belief. To determine whether something is essential or not, one would first have to undertake a judicial review of religious scripture. One would have to understand the scripture in the manner in which it is meant to be understood. That, in my respectful submission, is not possible unless one attains that level of spiritual understanding," he said.
"We are, arguably, the only society which worships women. From the President of India to the Prime Minister, to judges of the Supreme Court, we bow before our female deities. Therefore, my Lords, let us not import concepts of patriarchy and gender stereotypes into this discourse. These, I submit, were never inherent," Mehta told the court.
The nine-judge Constitutional bench comprises CJI Surya Kant, Justices BV Nagarathna, MM Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi.
The bench said that it will not go into the merits of the Sabarimala judgment and will confine itself to the seven questions framed in the matter.
(With PTI Inputs)