The case against customary exclusion
The case against customary exclusion: On January 18, the Supreme Court will hear final arguments on the question of whether women can be barred entry to the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala. During the hearing on January 11, Justice Dipak Mis
My VIEW:
My VIEW:
When an issue like this comes up before any
court, observations like “Unless you
[i.e. the governing board of the shrine] have a constitutional right to
prohibit women entry, you cannot prevent them from worshipping at the shrine.”
could be loud thoughts from the learned judges and are natural. But, one should
not expect every dispute to be finally resolved by courts. Legislating to
resolve conflicts like this, even admitting the supreme power of the apex court
to interpret provisions of existing statutes including Constitution, need to be
left to the government/s(state or central, depending on the subject). The
present temptation on the side of judiciary to clear ambiguities in existing
laws on their own can be harmful to the core basic features of the
Constitution.
court, observations like “Unless you
[i.e. the governing board of the shrine] have a constitutional right to
prohibit women entry, you cannot prevent them from worshipping at the shrine.”
could be loud thoughts from the learned judges and are natural. But, one should
not expect every dispute to be finally resolved by courts. Legislating to
resolve conflicts like this, even admitting the supreme power of the apex court
to interpret provisions of existing statutes including Constitution, need to be
left to the government/s(state or central, depending on the subject). The
present temptation on the side of judiciary to clear ambiguities in existing
laws on their own can be harmful to the core basic features of the
Constitution.
M G Warrier
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