The Supreme Court said it will await the outcome of a nine-judge Constitution Bench judgment before deciding a plea filed by a Parsi woman. The plea seeks directions to the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat to ensure equal treatment for women who marry persons belonging to another faith.
The Supreme Court indicated it will wait for the outcome of a nine-judge constitution bench judgment before deciding a plea seeking directions to the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat to ensure a Parsi woman is treated on an equal basis with her male counterparts even after she marries someone of another faith.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi made this observation while hearing a petition filed by Dina Budhraja, a Parsi woman who married a Hindu man without changing her faith.
She asked for a direction allowing her to attend prayers at the Nagpur agiary (Zoroastrian fire temple) upon the death of close relatives. Budhraja had been denied entry to the agiary in 2024 for her grandmother’s funeral.
The court noted that a nine-judge bench had recently reserved its verdict on a broader question concerning alleged discrimination against women across religions, including in matters relating to the Sabarimala temple, and had directed Divan to await its outcome.
Earlier, On March 23, the bench had decided to examine a major constitutional challenge involving alleged gender discrimination within religious personal laws specifically questioning whether a Parsi woman can lose her religious identity after an inter-faith marriage.
The Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre, the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Maharashtra government, and the Charity Commissioner in connection with Budhraja’s petition.
The plea, filed through advocate Rohit Anil Rathi, sought a direction to strike down Rule 5(2) of the constitution of the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat being violative of the Constitution of India because it is said to discriminate against women.
It also sought a declaration from the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat that it must treat Parsi men and Parsi women equally and that a Parsi woman continues to be a Parsi even after she marries a man of another faith.
The petition further requested a declaration that the petitioner and other Parsi women in a similar situation are entitled to the same treatment as Parsi men who marry women of another faith.
The plea said,
“During pendency of the instant petition, kindly permit the petitioner to regularly enter the Nagpur Agiary and offer her prayers and also permit the petitioner to attend the prayers at the Nagpur Agiary on demise of her near and dear ones as well as the periodic Muktad prayers of her near and dear ones,”
Filed under Article 32, the petition argued that the impugned rule violates Article 14 (equality before law), Article 21 (right to life and dignity), and Article 25 (freedom of religion).
The petitioner claimed that Rule 5(2) of the constitution of the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat strips Parsi women of their religious identity and denies them access to religious institutions such as the agiary after they marry a non-Parsi. According to the petition, no similar restrictions are imposed on Parsi men who marry outside the community.