New Delhi: The Supreme Court will examine the feasibility of constituting a nine-judge bench to hear multiple petitions addressing the tension between religious freedom and women’s rights, including the Sabarimala women entry issue, Chief Justice Surya Kant announced.

The Times of India quoted the Chief Justice as saying this, though he did not indicate when the bench would begin hearings.

If the hearings on Sabarimala issue begin before the summer vacation, it could pose another challenge for the state government ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

In addition to the Sabarimala women entry case, the nine-judge bench will examine petitions challenging the practice of female genital mutilation within the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community and the ban on women entering mosques. Another set of petitions raises the issue of Parsi women being denied entry into Agiaries (Zoroastrian temples) if they marry outside the community.

The bench was initially constituted in 2019 under the then Chief Justice S A Bobde to examine the women entry issue. Among the members of that bench, the only sitting judge currently in the Supreme Court is Chief Justice Surya Kant. Other members were S A Bobde, R Bhanumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, Mohan M Shantan Goudar, S Abdul Nazeer, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai.