Sabarimala Pilgrimage begins

Subject : Polity

Context:

Handbook for cops was withdrawn by the LDF government after rule on women devotees sparks row

More about Sabarimala Temple:

The Sabarimala Temple is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India.
It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 10 to 15 million devotees visiting every year.
The temple is dedicated to a Hindu Brahmachari (Celibate) deity Ayyappan also known as Dharma Shasta, who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine incarnation of Vishnu.
The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions.
The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests.
The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as
Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala.
While functional and intact temples exist at many places in the surrounding areas like Nilakkal, Kalaketty, and Karimala, remnants of old temples survive to this day on remaining hills.

What was Supreme Court order in Sabrimala Temple issue:

In a 4:1 judgment, the 5-membered constitution bench of the Supreme Court, in Indian Young Lawyers Association vs. the State of Kerala, has allowed women of all ages to worship in Sabarimala Temple.
In its judgment, SC stated that ‘devotion cannot be subjected to gender discrimination’.
Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice RF Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud constituted the majority, while the lone woman judge on the Bench, Justice Indu Malhotra dissented.

What was the petition all about:

The petitions had challenged the Constitutional validity of Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which restricts the entry of women into the Sabarimala Temple as being ultra-vires Section 3 of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Act, 1965 which states that places of public worship are to be open to all sections and classes of Hindus.