NEW DELHI, Nov 13, TEN Network | The Supreme Court will announce verdicts on review petitions against its orders in two important cases tomorrow – entry of women in Sabarimala temple and the Rafale deal. In the Sabarimala case, a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will deliver judgement on petitions seeking review of its September 2018 order that allowed menstruating women to enter the shrine in Kerala. The top court will also review its judgement delivered in December that dismissed the petitions seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rs. 58,000 crore Rafale deal.
In September last year, the top court had ordered that women of all ages must be allowed into the famous Ayyappa shrine in Kerala, ending a centuries-old ban on women and girls between 10 and 50 years.
As the verdict sparked a series of protests, The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), that manages the Sabarimala shrine, argued that the court cannot intervene with a century-old belief.
A five-member constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had reserved its decision on February 6 after hearing various parties including those seeking re-consideration of the judgement in an open court.
The Kerala government had supported the verdict saying courts can set aside religious practices which are against fundamental rights. Women petitioners, supporting the verdict, had also argued that women being barred because of menstruation is discrimination and against the constitution.
The top court will tomorrow hear a clutch of petitions, including 56 review petitions, four fresh writ petitions and five transfer pleas that challenged the September 28, 2018 order. Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra are the other members of the five-member bench who will hear the petition tomorrow.
On Rafale deal, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will deliver judgement on petitions seeking a review of its judgement giving a clean chit to the Centre in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation
On May 10, the top court had reserved the decision on the pleas, including one filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, seeking a re-examination of its findings in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
Petitioners, including former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, wanted the top court to reverse its decision and order a CBI probe into the deal.
The centre had said the petitioners relied on media reports and they can’t reopen the case.The articles had claimed that the central government had not revealed all the details in the court.
The other judges on the three-member bench are Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph. Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Sanjay Singh is also among the petitioners. (NDTV)
