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New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) The Supreme Court was told on Thursday that it could not interfere with the practice of prohibiting women in the age group of 10 to 50 years from entering in the Sabarimala temple where the idol of Lord Ayyappa is in a state of "Naishtika Brahmacharya" as it was an essential part of temple customs.
Naishtika Brahmacharya, the five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, was told requires the Brahmachari to observe the vow of celibacy without any room for departure and deity too has rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Asserting the rights of the deity, advocate J. Sai Deepak, appearing for group "People for Dharma", told the constitution bench to balance the rights of one set of people who are advocating the entry of women of all age in the temple with that of others who want custom and tradition to be preserved.
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