New Delhi: Describing Hinduism as a way of life, the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday observed that visiting temples or performing rituals is not mandatory for a person to identify as a Hindu, and that even lighting a lamp at home reflects the individual’s belief and faith.

The observations were made by a nine-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant while hearing petitions concerning alleged discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala Temple, as well as issues related to the scope of religious freedom across different faiths, including the Dawoodi Bohra community.

The nine-judge Constitution bench also comprises Justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi.

As the proceedings entered the 15th day of hearing, advocate Dr. G. Mohan Gopal, appearing for one of the intervenors, told the bench that demands for social justice were increasingly emerging from within religious communities themselves.

"Hinduism was defined as a religious category. Thereafter, in 1966, it was held that a Hindu is one who accepts the Vedas as the highest authority in all matters religion and philosophy. They never asked me. None of us ever said that.

"Now, I have the highest respect for the Vedas and great admiration for it. But is it a fact that every person today classified as Hindu accepts the Vedas as the highest authority in all spiritual and philosophical matters?" he asked.

Responding to his submission, Justice Nagarathna said, "That is why Hinduism is called as a way of life. It is not necessary for a Hindu to mandatorily go to a temple or perform a ritual in order to remain a Hindu."

She said one need not be ritualistic and nobody can come in the way for people having their faith.

CJI also remarked, "Even if an individual lights a lamp inside his hut is enough to prove his religion."

The top court had earlier observed that if individuals start questioning every religious practice or matters of religion before a constitutional court, then there will be hundreds of petitions and every religion will "break" due to this.

A five-judge Constitution bench had lifted a ban that prevented women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in a 4:1 majority verdict in September 2018, ruling that the centuries-old Hindu religious practice was illegal and unconstitutional. PTI