The Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 8, 2026) said courts cannot hollow out religion in the name of reform, and logic may not be the right tool to examine faith and belief systems.
The remarks from the nine-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant came during the second day of hearing a reference triggered by a 2018 judgment upholding menstruating women’s right to enter and worship at the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna said that “in the name of social reform, a religion cannot lose its identity”, echoing the Centre’s stand that the core of a religious faith cannot be sacrificed citing reform.
Sabarimala review: A strict definition of ‘denomination’, ‘essential religious practices’ will compress plural and diverse Hinduism, Centre tells SC
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Union government, submitted that reform must come from within the religion. “If I believe in something and it is not against public order, morality or health, there cannot be a judicial review based on rationality and science,” Mr. Mehta said.
