The Supreme Court today announcing its verdict on a review petition against its order on the Sabarimala temple case, referred the case to a larger seven-judge bench. The earlier verdict allowing women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple is still operational. A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will deliver a judgement on petitions seeking review of its September 2018 order which allowed menstruating women to enter the Ayyappa shrine in Kerala.The Supreme Court had last year ordered that women of all ages must be allowed into the famous Ayyappa shrine in Kerala. The order had ended a centuries-old ban on women and girls between 10 and 50 years.The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) which manages the Sabarimala shrine had argued that the court could not intervene in a centuries-old belief. The verdict had sparked a series of protests.The Kerala government had supported the verdict saying the court could set aside religious practices that are against fundamental rights.Petitions against 2018 SC judgment The petitioners against the September 2018 order argued that the practice at Sabarimala temple was based on the celibate character of the deity. The petitioners also submitted that constitutional morality was subjective, which should not be applied in matters of faith. Religious beliefs cannot be tested on basis of rationality. The right to worship has to be exercised in consonance with the nature of deity and essential practice of the temple.