Supreme Court Bench Questions 'WhatsApp University' in Sabarimala Temple Gender Discrimination Hearing

NEW DELHI: Hearing a case on gender discrimination in temples like Sabarimala, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it respects the views of eminent authors and thinkers, but cannot rely on information from 'WhatsApp University.' The remark came from a nine-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant hearing petitions on the scope of religious freedom across faiths. The bench included Justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan, and Joymalya Bagchi. During the hearing, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for the head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, referred to an article by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on judicial restraint in matters of religious relief. Responding, Chief Justice Kant said the court respects eminent individuals and jurists, but personal opinions remain just that. Kaul argued that knowledge should be welcomed from all sources. "If wisdom comes from any source, any country or university, it should be accepted. We are far too rich as a civilisation to reject knowledge," he said. Justice Nagarathna, in a lighter moment, interjected: "But not from WhatsApp University." Kaul replied that he was not concerned with judging sources, reiterating that the key point was to accept knowledge wherever it comes from. A day earlier, the top court observed that it is extremely difficult—if not impossible—for courts to define what constitutes an essential religious practice. In a 4–1 ruling in September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench had lifted the ban on women aged 10 to 50 entering the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, declaring the practice unconstitutional.