The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed disappointment at the failure of lawyers to arrive at a consensus over framing questions relating to the constitutional validity of various personal laws such as the ban on the entry of women of childbearing age into Kerala’s Sabarimala temple.
“We are disappointed that you have not arrived at a consensus…. We (judges) will work on the issues over the weekend and consider on Monday,” Chief Justice S.A. Bobde told lawyers representing various parties.
The CJI indicated that the nine-judge bench constituted on the issue could assemble briefly on Monday to frame relevant questions on restrictive practices in religion.
Around 2pm on Thursday, some lawyers like V. Giri and Indira Jaising had rushed to the CJI’s court requesting that the judges themselves frame the questions and begin early hearing.
On Tuesday, solicitor-general Tushar Mehta had made a similar request, saying that the lawyers had not been able to come to a consensus. “Remember, there is the Kashmir bench too. We did not think that this will take this form,” Justice Bobde had replied.
It is the practice of constitution benches to first frame questions for reference and thereafter take up the matter for hearing. The nine-judge bench will also look into certain practices among Parsis and Dawoodi Bohras.
