New Delhi: The Supreme Court will commence from February 17 the hearing on issues relating to gender justice vis-a-vis essential religious practices. It held on Monday that a five-judge bench, in a limited review jurisdiction, could refer to a larger bench the question of law germane to the issue before the court.
Upholding the November 14, 2019 reference order by a five-judge constitution bench, Chief Justice S. A. Bobde heading the nine-judge constitution bench said, “We hold that this court can refer questions of law to a larger bench in a review petition.” The issue focuses on the right of women under Article 14 and the essential religious practices under Article 25 and 16.
The hearing is likely to last for three weeks, as the court has given seven days each to both the sides, with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta given a day’s time to make submissions on behalf of the central government. Kerala government too would get separate time to address the court. However, the court accepted that the time schedule is not cast in a rigid frame but would be flexible. However, the court expected the counsel to stick to the schedule and complete the arguments.
