Whether certain essential religious practices of various faiths, including Islam and Zoroastrianism, should be constitutionally protected?
In past: Women devotees of menstruating age were not permitted to worship here, out of respect to the celibate nature of the deity in this temple.
1991 : A Kerala high-court judgement had legalized this Ban , and forbade women from entering the temple
In 2018 : The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court held that any exception placed on women because of biological differences violates the Constitution – that the ban violates the right to equality under Article 14, and freedom of religion under Article 25
From Prelims Point of View:
Article 14 :
State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
Article 14 of our constitution provides that no one is above the law of the land.
Rule of the Law derived from Article 14 of the constitution.
The article 14 aims to establish the “Equality of Status and Opportunity” as embodied in the Preamble of the Constitution.
Article 25 :
No discrimination against anyone on grounds of faith,
Separation of religion from politics,
Acceptance of religion as purely and strictly private affairs of individuals having nothing to do with the State.
Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 4th February 2020
