She also found that, as a matter of custom, women of a certain age had been excluded from the temple’s precincts, and this constituted a non-derogable “essential religious practice”. At first glance, it might well seem to replicate some of the difficulties that have long beleaguered the essential religious practices doctrine. Under the essential religious practices test, constitutional protection turns on whether a court sees a practice as critical to the exercise of faith. This makes it impossible for courts to remain entirely indifferent to the real-life consequences of religious practice. The anti-exclusion test acknowledges that faith must remain autonomous in its own domain, but its outward exercise must comport with the Constitution’s commitment to equal moral membership.

Source: The Hindu February 26, 2026 10:37 UTC