The Supreme Court questioned, why should women compel the deity of Sabarimala for darshan when the diety does not want to grant it as per the tradition. The question came during a hearing of a petition filed against ban on entry of woman of a certain age at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

Senior advocate and amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran said that it was a effortless argument to say that women falling in certain age were banned entry as the ban affected women for their most active years of life, i.e 10 to 55 years. This is cited by him as a gender descrimination.

At this point, Justice Kurian all of a sudden asked: “Why do you worship?”

Mr. Ramachandran replied that we worship for taking blessings and to convey thanks.

To this, Justice Kurian remarked saying, “The second part of saying thanks is corollary to the first part — blessings. Only if you get the first will you say the second.”

Justice Kurian asked, “But here if the deity says ‘I don’t want to see you’, why do you compel Him to see you? If the deity does not want to be pleased, why do you compel Him to be pleased?”

Mr. Raju Ramachandran responded saying it was merely an “interpretation created by those who have managed the temple.”

“If I, a woman, have faith. If I want to worship. I must have access to see Him... that part is protected by the Constitution irrespective of sex, gender, caste or biological phenomena,” Mr. Ramachandran explained.

- Sumana