NEW DELHI: Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the Sabarimala temple in Kerala , on Thursday justified the ban on entry of women in the menstruating age group of 10-50 years into the temple and told the Supreme Court that the restriction was in place to maintain purity of the temple which depicts "perennial brahmacharya (celibacy)".

Appearing before a constitution bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, the board's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued it was wrong to say that there was gender discrimination and ban on entry of women as there was just a restriction on entry of women in the age group of 10-50 years. He said people from all castes and religion were allowed to enter the temple including women below 10 years and above 50 years.

He said there were thousands of Ayyappa temples across the country and such restriction was not there in any of them and women, irrespective of their age, could visit those temples.

"Why do women want to visit only Sabarimala temple? There are many other temples of Lord Ayyappa, they can go there. There is no such restriction. Sabarimala temple is supposed to depict 'naishtika brahmacharya', his great power deriving specifically from his ascetic endeavours, in particular from abstention from sexual activities, and the practice is also followed by pilgrims before and during the pilgrimage to Sabarimala," Singhvi said.

The bench, however, said it was devotion that drove people to go to a particular temple and it was the choice of devotees. "Once you say a person is not allowed to visit the temple, then you have to justify the prohibition," the court said. It also questioned why the board's notification only talked about age restriction when the purpose was to restrict menstruating women from entering the temple.

The board said the court would have to go into history and mythology to find out what set this temple apart from others and to find out why women in the reproductive age group, that is between 10 and 50 years, were not allowed.

"The classification is founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes women of that age group from both men and women of other age groups and makes that age group the basis of exclusion based upon inherent physiological characteristics which bears a nexus to the objects of abstinence, celibacy, purity and self denial. The maintenance of purity of the idol in the form of a 'naishtika brahmacharya' is also a paramount object which is sought to be achieved," the board said.

It said entry ban on women in the 10-50 year age group was an age-old practice and similar restrictions were there in religious places of different faiths.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will resume on July 24.

