Thiruvananthapuram: An old video of former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra has emerged on social media in which she was seen claiming that Communist governments all over have acquired control of Hindu temples.
In the video, she can be heard saying that she along with Justice UU Lalit has halted such takeovers by the government such as in Kerala, where the state government, she alleged, takes over temples "for revenue", and specifically Hindu temples. She added that she won't allow it.
The video seems to have been shot outside the temple premises. In the video, Malhotra was seen referring to the 2020 Supreme Court case where the court upheld the right of the Travancore royal family to manage and control the temple after the death of the king of Travancore. Justice Malhotra was also part of a five-judge constitution bench that in 2018 ruled in favor of women's entry to Sabarimala.
Incidentally, retired justice Malhotra was the sole dissenting verdict amid the five justices in the Sabarimala temple entry case. She favoured the protection of religious interests instead of allowing women inside the temple.
