SC 'Expects' Kerala Govt To Bring Separate Law For Sabarimala Temple Administration [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it 'expects' the State of Kerala to place before it a legislation with regard to the administration of the Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple as the Government submitted to the Court earlier. 

The Court noted that, during the last date of hearing in August, the State had submitted that it is considering enacting a separate legislation with regard to the administration of the Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple.

"Even though on the last date of hearing i.e. 27.08.2019, a statement was made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent-State of Kerala that the State was considering enacting a separate legislation with regard to the administration of the Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple yet on today except placing before us a draft Bill of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2019, no further progress has taken place.

We expect that by the next date of hearing, the respondent-State of Kerala will place before us any legislation they will pass with regard to the administration of the Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple".

The bench, also comprising of Justices R. Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai, was considering an appeal filed by the Pandalam family member Revathi Nal P. Ramavarama Raja in 2011 seeking a separate committee for the temple's administration.

These proceedings has, in fact, no relation with the judgment passed by the Apex Court allowing young women to enter the temple by holding that the said custom of barring them is unconstitutional. Recently, the Court referred various legal issues to larger bench by keeping the review petitions pending.

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