Justice Indu Malhotra wrote the lone dissenting opinion in the landmark judgment on:

In the Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala case, decided on 28 September 2018, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala by a 4 to 1 majority. Justice Indu Malhotra wrote the lone dissenting opinion.

Background:

• The Sabarimala temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, traditionally did not allow women aged 10 to 50 to enter.
• The restriction was based on the belief that the deity is a "naishtika brahmachari" (eternal celibate).
• The Kerala High Court had upheld the restriction in 1991.

The majority judgment:

Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices R.F. Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud held that the ban violated the right to equality and freedom of religion of women.

Justice Chandrachud said that the exclusion of women amounted to a form of untouchability.

The Court held that the devotees of Ayyappa do not form a separate religious denomination.

Justice Indu Malhotra's dissent:

• She held that courts should not interfere in matters of deep religious faith unless a practice is oppressive, such as sati.
• She said that notions of rationality cannot be brought into matters of religion.
• She held that the devotees of Ayyappa could be regarded as a religious denomination with the right to manage their own affairs.
• She also said that the petitioners were not devotees, so their right to approach the court was doubtful.

Aftermath:

• The judgment led to protests in Kerala.
• In November 2019, the Supreme Court referred broader questions about religious freedom and essential religious practices to a larger bench of nine judges.

About Justice Indu Malhotra:

• She was the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court from the Bar, in 2018.
• She served until 2021.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The electoral bonds and right to privacy judgments were unanimous.
• ✗The triple talaq judgment had a different set of judges and dissents.