Sabarimala case: Supreme Court says it can refer questions of law to larger bench

A nine-judge Supreme Court bench on Monday ruled that questions of law can be referred to a larger bench even in a review petition, Live Law reported.

On February 6, the nine-judge bench had reserved its order on the preliminary question whether a reference is possible in a review petition. It said that it would pronounce its ruling on Monday, and examine the case on a daily basis from Wednesday.

“If there’s a question of law, the court has the liberty to constitute a larger bench to settle the issues,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, told the court on Monday. “As custodian of fundamental rights, it is the duty of the court to lay down an authoritative pronouncement on these questions of law.”