New Delhi, April 29 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that while courts cannot sit in judgment over the core religious affairs of a denomination, the State is well within its powers to intervene where the exercise of religious rights affects secular activities, marking a crucial boundary in the ongoing Sabarimala reference.

A nine-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant underscored this distinction during an expansive hearing on the interplay between Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, as it continued to examine larger questions arising out of the row over the entry of menstruating women into the Kerala shrine. The bench also included justices BV Nagarathna, MM Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, August...