Women enter Sabarimala: Supreme Court says ‘WhatsApp University’ won’t be relied upon in religious freedom case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it respects the views of eminent writers and thinkers but cannot rely on information from ‘WhatsApp University’, while hearing a case of gender discrimination in temples such as Sabarimala.‘The remarks were made by a nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant while hearing a petition regarding the scope of inter-faith religious freedom. The bench included Justices BV Nagarathna, MM Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi.During the hearing, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Dawoodi Bohra community leaders, referred to an article by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on judicial restraint on the issue of religious relief.Chief Justice Kant responded that the court respects eminent persons and jurists but personal opinions only go so far.Kaur believes that knowledge from all sources should be welcomed. “If wisdom comes from any source, from any country or university, it should be accepted. As a civilization, we are too rich to reject knowledge,” he said.Justice Nagarathna chimed in light-heartedly: “But not from WhatsApp University.”Kaur responded that he was not concerned with judging the source, and reiterated that the key point is to accept knowledge, no matter where it comes from.A day earlier, the Supreme Court noted that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for courts to define what constitutes a basic religious practice.In a 4-1 ruling in September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench lifted the ban on women between the ages of 10 and 50 entering the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, declaring the practice unconstitutional.