INDIA, September 28, 2018 (NewsX Bureau): The majority of the bench supported the entry of the women into the Kerala temple by striking down Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965. While the country supported the lifting of the ban, the only woman in the bench, Indu Malhotra, offered a dissenting opinion.
While reading out her dissenting judgment, Indu Malhotra said that the religious practices cannot be solely tested on the basis of Article of the Constitution. She said that what constitutes the essential religious practices, is up to the religious community to decide and not the Supreme Court. Reading out her judgment, Indu Malhotra said that the notions of rationality must be kept away from religion. She added that there was a need of balance between religious beliefs, principles of non-discrimination and laid by the Constitution.