India SC delays ruling on Sabarimala temple ban

India’s top court yesterday delayed a verdict on the lifting of a centuries-old ban on women of menstruating age entering a Hindu temple, asking more judges to consider the case involving gender discrimination and religion that has divided opinion. Upholding the right to equality of worship, a five-judge bench of the court last year ruled that the ban on women from entering the Sabarimala temple in the southern state of Kerala could not be considered an essential religious practice and should be lifted.