SC verdict ends discrimination against women in Indian temple

Retired Supreme Court Judge N Santosh Hegde welcomed the apex court judgment Friday paving the way for the entry of women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala.

"I fully agree with the judgment. All through...for decades...women were discriminated as another human being. God is the same for both man and woman," the former Solicitor General of India told PTI.

"Their biological differences cannot be a ground for the purpose of refusing entry into the temple. I think Supreme Court recently has been giving some very positive and good decisions. This is an also a very good one. I fully agree with it," the former Karnataka Lokayukta added.

The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, said that banning the entry of women into the shrine is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women.

The CJI said the practice of exclusion of women of 10-50 age group cannot be regarded as essential religious practice and Kerala law denies rights to women on the ground of physiological reasons.