'Are you nation's chief priest'? SC questions Indian Young Lawyers Association in Sabarimala case

NEW DELHI: (May 5) "Are you the chief priest of the country?" The Supreme Court remarked on Tuesday while slamming the Indian Young Lawyers Association over its 2006 PIL challenging the prohibition of women aged 10 to 50 from entering the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.

The top court observed that the PIL was an "abuse of process of law" and the association should work for the bar and the welfare of its younger members rather than filing such PILs.

The observation of a nine-judge Constitution bench came while hearing petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, and on the ambit and scope of the religious freedom practised by multiple faiths.