The Government of India has defended the restriction on women of menstruating age entering Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple, saying the tradition is “rooted in religious practice, not discrimination.” The submission was filed in a written note to the Supreme Court of India ahead of hearings on long-pending review petitions challenging the 2018 judgment that allowed women of all ages to enter the temple.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, argued that the ban on women between the ages of 10 and 50 is based on Lord Ayyappa’s nature as a Naishtika Brahmachari, and not on notions of impurity or inferiority. He stressed that the restriction aligns with centuries-old worship practices observed by devotees, both men and women, at the temple.

The Centre urged the court to recognize that who may enter a place of worship is determined by religious belief and the specific character of the deity, rather than being a matter of gender discrimination. Allowing unrestricted entry, it said, would alter the nature of worship and undermine the pluralism protected by the Constitution.

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Highlighting the limits of judicial review, the Centre cautioned against assessing religious practices on grounds of “rationality,” “modernity,” or “scientific defensibility.” Such evaluations, it argued, would amount to courts substituting their own philosophical views for the internal understanding of a faith.

The submission stressed that judges are neither trained nor institutionally equipped to interpret sacred texts or adjudicate theological matters. It added that determining the legitimacy of a practice within its religious context lies beyond constitutional review and should respect denominational autonomy.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear the review petitions, the Centre’s stance underscores the ongoing tension between constitutional principles of equality and the protection of religious traditions, highlighting the sensitive balance between law, faith, and social reform in India.

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