New Delhi, April 7 -- The Supreme Court has commenced hearing in the long-pending Sabarimala temple entry review along with a batch of connected matters, which raise significant constitutional questions concerning the scope of religious freedom, the doctrine of essential religious practices and the limits of judicial intervention in matters of faith.

The nine-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and comprising of Justices Joymalya Bagchi, B. V. Nagarathna, R. Mahadevan, M. M. Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, A. G. Masih and Prasanna B. Varale, will examine issues including -- the scope and ambit of the right to freedom of religion under Article 25; the interplay between individual rights under Article ...