Right to Freedom of Religion

Story hook

On 28 September 2018, on the second floor of the Supreme Court's main building, five judges sat to deliver judgment in Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala. The case had been argued for 18 days. The question: could the Sabarimala temple in Kerala lawfully bar women of menstruating age (10-50 years) from entering? The temple authorities argued that Lord Ayyappa's celibate nature required this exclusion — and that the ban was therefore an "essential religious practice" protected under Article 25. The petitioners argued that such exclusion violated the constitutional rights of women under Articles 14, 15, 17, 21, and 25 — that untouchability cannot wear the robes of religion.

The court ruled 4:1 in favour of the petitioners. Chief Justice Misra: "Religion cannot be used as a cover to deny rights of worship to women." Justice Indu Malhotra, in a lone dissent, warned: "What constitutes essential religious practice is for the religious community to decide, not for the court." The protests that followed — at Pamba, at the Sabarimala base camp, at the gates of the temple — were among the most polarising of the decade.

Articles 25 to 28 of the Constitution — the Right to Freedom of Religion — are the constitutional frame for these contests. They speak in the language of liberty: "freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion." But they also contain the seeds of restriction: "subject to public order, morality, health," and the state's power to "regulate any secular activity associated with religious practice." This double-edged design — protection plus power to regulate — is what makes Indian secularism unique and constantly contested.

Why this matters for UPSC

Articles 25-28 generate the most politically charged constitutional cases in any decade — Shayara Bano (triple talaq), Sabarimala, Hijab ban (Karnataka 2022), Ram Janmabhoomi (2019), Places of Worship Act challenges (Gyanvapi, Mathura). Prelims will routinely ask which article protects what; Mains will probe the "essential religious practices" doctrine; Interview will press "can India be both secular and have a Hindu Code Bill?" Mastering this unit is non-negotiable.