Supreme Court lawyers for a senior member of the Pandalam royal family, believed by worshippers to be the foster-family of Sabarimala temple deity Lord Ayyappa, are expected to take part in a conference scheduled for January 17 to re-frame issues to be argued before a nine-judge Constitution Bench. The Bench will to examine the legality of certain “essential” religious practices.
The nine-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde, has directed the Supreme Court Secretary-General to co-ordinate with some senior advocates and convene a meeting on January 17 of all lawyers who would appear before the Bench.
The lawyers would re-frame or add questions to those referred to the Bench by a five-judge Review Bench in the Sabarimala case on November 14, 2019.
Senior advocate K. Radhakrishnan, appearing for Pandalam family member Raja Raja Varma, submitted before the nine-judge Bench that the temple was an “unincorporated” entity with its own essential practices, which had been followed since time immemorial. Mr. Varma’s application said he was duty-bound to protect the “essential practices” of the temple.
