New Delhi: Bench consisting of 9 judges Supreme Court Complaints about discrimination against women in places of worship will be heard, including keralaof Sabarimala Temple.The hearing is scheduled to begin on April 7 and is expected to conclude on April 22. The composition of the nine-judge bench will be notified separately by the Chief Justice of India through an executive order.A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi on Monday passed the order for the reference list before a nine-judge bench.“Hearings on these matters will be held before nine judges on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, commencing at 10:30 a.m. Review applicants or parties supporting them will hear from April 7 to 9, 2026. The original writ petitioner opposing the review petitioner will be heard from April 14 to 16, 2026. A hearing on rebuttal submissions (if any) will be held on April 21, 2026, followed by the submission of final concluding comments by the Academic Friends, which is expected to conclude on April 22. Both parties shall adhere to the above timetable,” the Supreme Court noted.“The nodal counsel shall prepare internal arrangements in consultation with the defense counsel for both parties so that the oral submissions of both parties can be heard within the stipulated time,” it added.The petitions listed along with these dealt with issues such as entry of Muslim women into dargahs/mosques, entry of Parsi women into fire temples after marrying non-Parsis, validity of the practice of excommunication and female genital mutilation among the Dawoodi Bohra community.In 2018, a Supreme Court constitutional bench allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, overturning a centuries-old practice of barring entry to women between the ages of 10 and 50.Subsequently, a nine-judge Constitution Bench on February 10, 2020, upheld the decision of the Sabarimala Review Tribunal, referring the wide-ranging questions on the interplay between fundamental religious practices, equality and constitutional ethics across faiths to the larger bench.The Center, along with other parties, has supported a review petition effectively challenging the 2018 ruling allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple.The original writ petitioners are now respondents in the review proceedings, opposing the review petition and seeking to uphold the 2018 judgment.
