“Courts shouldn’t oversee codified religious practices”: J.S. Deepak
Senior Advocate J. Sai Deepak told the nine-judge Bench of the Sabarimala reference case that merely because a religious practice is codified by the State, it does not automatically become subject to judicial review if it falls outside constitutional scrutiny. He argued that legislation cannot be used as a means to indirectly test or invalidate deeply held religious traditions.
Representing devotee groups and other stakeholders, he submitted that State action through codification should not dilute religious freedom, and that courts must respect the constitutional boundaries that protect individual and collective faith practices.
The Bench, however, observed that once the State intervenes through legislation or executive action, judicial review is triggered even in matters concerning religion. It noted that while courts exercise restraint in religious issues, it cannot be said that judicial review is entirely excluded.
