SC asks Kerala govt to come out with exclusive law for administration of Sabarimala temple
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Kerala government to come out with an exclusive legislation regarding the administration of the historic Sabarimala temple.
A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana asked the state to place before it by third week of January next year the legislation, also covering the aspects of welfare of pilgrims visiting there.
The counsel appearing for the state said it has formulated amendments to the law that would deal with the temples and their administrations which are presently being governed by the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The draft law also proposes to give one-third representation to women in the temple advisory committee, the counsel said.
This aspect triggered a debate in the courtroom with regard to September 2018 apex court verdict allowing entry of girls and women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.
The state government said that for the time being, it proposes to give representation in the temple advisory committee to only those women who are above 50 years of age.
One of the judges of the bench referred to the September 28, 2018 verdict and observed that the direction allowing girls and women of all ages holds the field. The top court was hearing a plea filed in 2011 which has raised the issue of administration of Sabarimala temple.
In August this year, the state government had told the top court that it was considering enacting a "separate legislation" with regard to administration of the Sabarimala temple.
A 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by the then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in a 3:2 majority verdict, had referred to a larger 7-judge bench the pleas seeking review of its historic 2018 judgement allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Kerala's Sabarimala temple, along with other contentious issues of alleged discrimination against Muslim and Parsi women.
The top court had not stayed the 2018 verdict that had allowed entry of girls and women of all ages into Sabarimala temple.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
