He could have blazed a trail that few Indian judges had. It was a missed opportunity of a lifetime, notes Ramesh Menon.
A senior police officer told PTI that they were taken into custody after they had offered prayers.
The Bharatiya Janata Party lined up several promises, including a legislation to protect traditions of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala and a law against "love jihad", while assuring employment for at least one person from each family and free laptops to high school students, in its manifesto for the assembly polls unveiled in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
The RSS leader said he had not violated any customs and claimed that he ascended the 18 steps carrying the sacred offerings.
Here's a list of the top five major temple tragedies in the past 10 years.
The Supreme Court asked the Sabarimala temple management, "How mensturation is linked to purety?"
'Let every person remember that the 'holy book' is the Constitution, and it is with this book in hand that the citizens of India march together as a nation, so that they may move forward in all spheres of human endeavour to achieve the great goals set out by this 'Magna Carta' or Great Charter of India'
Braving threats from conservatives and the tough terrains of the hillock, K B Valsala Kumari, then collector of Pathanamthitta district, visited the temple complex at least four times during 1994-95.
'The Sangh Parivar's position is that whatever gold that is there in a temple should remain there. It shouldn't be taken away by anyone.' 'See, we are not misappropriating anything; we are only using it for the welfare of the temple and the devotees.'
The apex court said it would endeavour to constitute the larger bench at the earliest to hear the matter.
The bench said the review petition can only be taken up after the Dussehra vacation.
The women devotees were surrounded by a large number of protesters after they crossed the base camp to begin the trek towards the hill shrine.
The five-judge Constitution bench said that it is the devotion which makes a woman to visit a temple.
The apex court's observation came when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for a woman devotee, Bindu Ammini, alleged violation of the 2018 verdict and said her client was attacked for her bid to enter the shrine.
Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has reacted to Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan's out-of-turn taunts with a one-liner, 'Let's wait', and thereby hangs a tale, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
In his annual Vijayadashmi address, the RSS chief also spoke about "urban maoism", the Sabarimala row and the need to strengthen the country's borders.
Security has been put on high alert across the nation as the Supreme Court of India is all set to deliver its verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, Sabarimala case and a host of other legal wrangles.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Thursday its verdicts on a batch of petitions seeking re-examination of its decision to allow entry of women of all age group in Kerala's Sabarimala Temple and a review of its judgment giving a clean chit to the Modi government in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made it clear that the Left government was with the believers.
A local court has returned the chargesheet filed by police against Kannada actress Jayamala and two others on the ground that it was lacking required documents in the case relating to her claim that she once visited the Sabarimala temple and touched the idol of Lord Ayyappa, defying the custom of the hill temple.
The BJP/Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and right wing outfits have made it clear that they would not allow any woman in the 10-50 age group to offer prayers at the shrine, where the deity is 'Naishtika Brahmachari' (perennial celibate).
Security has been tightened in the hill shrine of Sabarimala in view of the anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. Contingents of police, CRPF, National Disaster Response Force and armed commandos had been deployed in vital spots at the uphill 'Sannidhanam', where the temple complex is located, and downhill Pampa, senior police officials said.
Maharashtra government on Tuesday favoured entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of the renowned Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai.
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, however, had no qualms about overturning the judgements of father Y V Chandrachud on hot- button issues like adultery and the right to privacy.
Protesting against the police action, BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Thiruvananthapuram district on Tuesday.
The age of the girl, with 'irrumudikettu' (offerings to Lord Ayyappa) had been shown as 10 in the virtual queue booking.
As the situation went out of control, police first used water cannon and then burst tear gas shells to disperse the unruly crowd.
The family members of Thantri Kantararu Maheswararu said, "Such a thing can never happen because even the Brahmin priests of the temple cannot enter the hallowed place and touch the deity."
Thursday was the day results from the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and by-elections in Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh were out, so what were some of our leaders up to?
The police said the women were told that it would be difficult to provide protection to them till the shrine as there was a possibility of protests.
The woman climbed the security barricade to the 'chauthara' (platform) where the idol is installed and offered prayers on Saturday, before disappearing in the crowd.
Seeking to downplay the debate over the Makara Jyothi of the Sabarimala temple, Travancore Devaswom Board said it was known to most believers that it was a man lit-fire, but there was a Hindu belief behind it. "It is known to everybody that Makara Jyothi is a fire lit up by men at Ponnabalamedu and TDB also recognises this',TDB president M Rajagoplan Nair said.
Hegde had recently stoked a controversy with his 'daylight rape' comment which he had made in the context of persistent violence in Kerala.
'This government has huge respect for the Supreme Court and when there is going to be a hearing on the review petition, it is appropriate to refrain from taking any action till then.'
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state health minister Veena George said at a press conference that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
The temple board is likely to seek the co-operation of the state government as its own investigative wing had limitations in conducting the probe in a sensitive matter involving inter-state ramifications.
The Supreme Court on Friday referred the issue of the practice of excommunication in the Dawoodi Bohra community to a larger nine-judge bench.
Rajya Sabha sources said he will take oath at 11 am on Thursday. The former CJI was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 16.
The PIL said that the ban on entry of Muslim women in mosques was 'unconstitutional' and violative of fundamental rights to life, equality and gender justice.
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