The freedom to profess and practice any religion as per the choice of any individual has been

very rightly bestowed andguaranteed by the Constitution of India. In addition to this, the
constitution also guaranteesevery individual equality before law and prohibits all sorts of
discrimination on the basis ofcaste, creed, sex, race and religion. On 28thof September 2018, the
Supreme Court in the case of Indian Young Lawyers Association &Ors v. State of Kerala &Ors
upheld the rights and dignity of women by allowing the entry of women in the age group of 10-
50 into the Sabarimala temple.

Article 14 of the Constitution of India confers a right to equality of law and equal protection
before the law to every citizen. Article 14 also encircles the principles of natural justice along
with the right to a hearing. An unreasonable and arbitrary practice of discretion is a violation of
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, 1950. Thus Article 14 inflicts a duty on the state to act
under fair grounds. Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all persons in
India. It provides that all persons in India, subject to public order, morality, health, and other
provisions are equally entitled to freedom of conscience, and have the right to freely profess,
practice and propagate religion.

According to the Respondents, the said temple, though open to all members of the public
regardless of caste, creed, or religion, is a denominational temple which claimed the fundamental
right to manage its own affairs in matters relating to religion.According to them which was
exclusive to women only, and which was based upon custom allegedly constituting an essential
part of religion, can be said to be violative of their rights under Article 25.