Sabarimala Verdict: Will women be allowed to enter the Sabarimala Temple? 5-judge bench to pronounce the verdict. LIVE UPDATES here

Update at 11.26 am: The ball is in women court. Now, they have to decide on their choice and their right that want to go or not: NCW Chief Rekha Sharma

Update at 11.19 am: Rationality has no place in matters of faith: Justice Indu Malhotra

Update at 11.18 am: Justice Indu Malhotra says constitutional morality recognised freedom of every group

Update at 11.18 am: Justice Indu Malhotra says in her dissenting judgment that it’s not up to the courts to decide if such religious practices should be struck down

Update at 11.01 am: Mensturation cannot be a ground to deny women entry into the temple: Justice Chandrachud

Update at 11.01 am: Followers of ayyappa do not constitute a separate religious identity: Justice Chandrachud

Update at 11.01 am: We will discuss the verdict. We are a law-abiding establishment. We accept the verdict. We will discuss how arrangements will be made for women at Sabarimala, with the govt and the temple tantri: Devaswom board

Update at 10.55 am: Right to worship ought to be given to all devotees without discriminating on the basis of religion: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.55 am: This exclusionary practice is neither an essential nor an integral part of the Hindu religion: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.53 am: Supreme Court lifts centuries' old prohibition, upholds women's right to worship Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala

Update at 10.48 am: The practice of exclusion of the women of the age group 10-50 cannot be regarded as an essential religious practice: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.48 am: Women have fundamental rights to practice their religion. The rule that bans women is in clear violation of it: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.47 am: The practice in the Sabarimala temple of not allowing women is discriminatory to the woman’s right to practice her religion: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.47 am:  Subversion of women on physiological factors cannot be allowed: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.46 am: Biological or physiological reasons cannot be accepted in freedom of faith: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.46 am: Patriarchy cannot overwhelm religion. Religion is a way of life: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.46 am: Suppression of women on biological aspects cannot be given a seal of legitimacy: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.44 am: Any relationship with the creator is a transcendental one: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.44 am: Society has to undergo a perception shift: CJI Dipak Misra

Update at 10.43 am: 4:1 verdict to be pronounced. Dissent by Justice Indu Malhotra

Update at 10:42 am: Historically women have been treated with inequality: Dipak Misra Chief Justice of India

Update at 10:38 am: The five-judge bench assembles to pronounce the verdict on Sabarimala

Update at 10:31 am: Release from Sabarimala Ayyappan Dharma Sena 

The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment in relation to the ban on entry of women in the age group of 10-50 into in Kerala's famous Sabarimala temple on Friday. A five-judge bench will give the verdict at 10:30 am. 

Read: Ayodhya Verdict: Supreme Court Rejects Plea To Refer The Case To A Larger Bench, Says 'Matter Will Only Be Treated As A Land Issue'

Earlier in August, the Supreme Court had said that women have the constitutional right to enter Sabarimala temple in Kerala and pray like men without being discriminated against. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which is hearing a petition challenging the decision of the Devaswom board banning entry of women of age group 10-50 years, said that even if there was no law, the women cannot be discriminated against with regard to offering prayer in a temple.

"When a man can enter, a woman can also go. What applies to a man, applies to a woman also," the bench also comprising justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra observed.

Read: Adultery Law Verdict: 'Husband Is Not The Master Of A Woman' Says CJI Dipak Misra While Declaring Adultery As Arbitrary

The bench also added that the right is enshrined under Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution:

"The right to enter a temple is not dependent on a legislation. It is the constitutional right".

During the hearing, the Kerala government informed the apex court that it supports the entry of women of all age groups in the temple. The bench then referred to the contrary affidavits of the Kerala government which had in 2015 had supported the entry of women but made a U-turn in 2017 and opposed the entry.

The counsel for the Kerala government said that it would go by its first affidavit and support the cause of women.

"You are changing with the changing times," the bench had remarked 

The apex court had on October 13 last year referred the issue to a Constitution bench after framing five "significant" questions including whether the practice of banning entry of women into the temple amounted to discrimination and violated their fundamental rights under the Constitution.