'Religions Will Break' if Courts Start Interfering in Religious Matters: SC in Sabarimala Reference
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, while hearing the Sabarimala reference on Thursday (May 8) observed that courts interfering in matters of religion and religious practices could effectively disrupt religions and thus, should exercise caution while dealing with such cases.
“If everybody starts questioning certain religious practices or matters of religion before a constitutional court, then what happens to this civilisation where religion is so intimately connected with Indian society? There will be hundreds of petitions questioning this right, that right; opening of temples, closure of temples, right? We are very, very conscious of this,” said Justice B.V. Nagarathna, as quoted by LiveLaw.
Justice M.M. Sundresh agreed and added that "religions will break" if courts go into all disputes related to religion. "Everybody will question everything. It's more like an in-house setup where you are saying what you are doing is wrong, and the other person will say it's absolutely obnoxious. How can court (intervene) when the legislature has been given a conscious right under Article 25(2)?"
Article 25(2) of the Indian constitution empowers the State to regulate secular activities associated with religious practices and enforce social reforms.
The remarks were made as the nine-judge bench was hearing the arguments of senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, representing the Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community, which has challenged the power of the Dai (religious head) of the Dawoodi Bohra community to excommunicate persons.
The top court has been hearing a batch of petitions relating to discrimination against women in religions and at religious places, including a review of the 2018 judgement on Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
As per LiveLaw, in Thursday's hearing, Ramachandran argued that the excommunication power has been exercised arbitrarily in many instances, treating the believers as slaves, and this violated the fundamental rights of the believers.
However, Justice Nagarathna remarked that India is a civilisation marked by pluralities and diversities, even as it remains a sovereign democratic republic and that religion is deeply intimate, The New Indian Express reported.
“This is troubling us. We, nine judges, what we lay down is for a civilisation, that is India. India must progress. Despite all its development, economy, everything, there is a constant in us; we can’t break that constant. That is what is troubling us,” the judge said, as quoted by the daily.
The court also orally expressed concerns about the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) among sections of the Dawoodi Bohra community and tagged the petitions challenging FGM with the Sabarimala reference case.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had questioned the locus standi of the original petitioner, whose 2006 public interest litigation (PIL) that culminated in the landmark 2018 ruling allowing entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala temple. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant even suggested that it should have been “thrown outright in the dustbin”.
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