New Delhi:- During the hearing of the Sabarimala case in the Supreme Court on Thursday, there was a discussion on the customs and rituals observed in temples. Justice Nagarjuna said that restricting entry into temples to specific communities and barring "outsiders" will divide society. He said this is harmful to Hinduism.
He added that - leaving the Sabarimala case aside for a moment - if it is ordered that only members of the Gaud Saraswat community can enter a particular temple, or followers of the Kanchi Math should only go to Kanchi and avoid visiting other Maths (such as Sringeri), then such a restriction would be inappropriate. On the contrary, the more people visit various temples and Maths, the stronger the faith becomes.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Vaidyanathan, appearing for the central government, said that history presents several examples where disputes related to religion are inherently sensitive matters; in such cases, courts generally refrain from interfering.
On Thursday, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court continued hearing the cases related to discrimination against women at religious places for the third consecutive day. The proceedings also included an examination of the scope and limits of religious freedom prevalent in different religions.