SC will pronounce verdict on Sabarimala, Rafale review pleas tomorrow
In his last working days as the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi is hoping to end long-drawn and important legal battles. After giving the verdict on Ayodhya title dispute last week, CJI Gogoi will head two benches on Thursday which will pronounce judgment on Sabarimala and Rafale review pleas. The Sabarimala judgment will come before the Rafale one. Here are more details.
In 2018, a bench led by former CJI Dipak Misra and including Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, and Indu Malhotra, struck down the centuries-old norm of not letting menstruating women into Sabarimala Temple of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala. This verdict was seen as a huge win for women's rights, but some groups didn't agree and filed a review plea.
Meanwhile, Justice Malhotra, the only woman on the bench penned a dissenting judgment, saying that religious matters can't be decided only on the basis of Article 14 of the Constitution. The verdict had widespread ramifications in Kerala, with right-wing groups, backed by BJP, protesting on the streets. For days, heavy security dotted Sabarimala premises and some women managed to offer prayers.
Apart from CJI, the other four judges who are part of the bench are the ones who had signed the September 28 order last year. After hearing arguments, SC had reserved the order in February this year. The verdict will be out at 10:30 am.
Separately, another bench, led by CJI Gogoi and including Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph, will pronounce verdict on Rafale review plea. Earlier this year, the apex court said it didn't find any flaws in which Centre inked the deal with France for 36 Rafale jets. Dissatisfied with the order, pleas were filed in SC and the judgment will be announced tomorrow.
The third case whose verdict will be announced is the contempt plea filed by Meenakshi Lekhi against former Congress President Rahul Gandhi. He had said SC also agreed with the "Chowkidaar Chor Hai" analogy. However, after Lekhi highlighted that the top court never said it, Rahul was reprimanded. Later, he tendered an unconditional apology and called it "unintentional, non-willful and inadvertent".
