Supreme Court asks Kerala Government to frame exclusive law for Sabarimala before January 2020

The Supreme Court has directed the Kerala government to frame a separate law for the administration of the Sabarimala Temple. The apex court has also set the third week of January 2020 as the deadline and said the exclusive law should be similar to the southern state’s other famous temples like Tirupati and Guruvayur.

On August 27, the Supreme Court had asked the Kerala government to frame a new law for Sabarimala temple, but today the state government said the temple will be covered under the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act. Rejecting the state government’s stand, the court ruled that the amendments are not enough and asked the Kerala Government to frame a new law for Sabarimala temple. “This is not enough. We need a new, exclusive law for the administration of Sabarimala temple,” the court said.

The order was passed in a plea filed by the Pandalam royal family over a dispute in the administration of the temple.

While producing the draft amendments in the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, the state government also proposed to give one-third reservation to women in the temple advisory committee. However, the court asked, “How can there be women in the panel when a 7-judge Bench is yet to examine the question of essential religious practices.”

Last week, the Supreme Court had referred the Sabarimala issue to a larger bench to re-examine religious issues including those arising out of its 2018 verdict, allowing women of all ages to visit the temple.