With reference to the doctrine of ldquo essentiality rdquo consider the following statements It was ...........

Indian Polity Fundamental Rights

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With reference to the doctrine of “essentiality”, consider the following statements:

It was invented by a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the ‘Golaknath’ case in 1954.
The court held that the term “religion” will cover all rituals and practices “integral” to a religion, and took upon itself the responsibility of determining the essential and non-essential practices of a religion.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only

2 only

Both

None

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Explanation:

The Supreme Court’s decision to refer the Sabarimala temple case to a larger 7-judge Bench will also re-evaluate the “essential religious practice test”, a contentious doctrine evolved by the court to protect only such religious practices which were essential and integral to the religion. The doctrine of “essentiality” was invented by a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the ‘Shirur Mutt’ case in 1954.The apex court has itself emphasised autonomy and choice in its Privacy (2017), 377 (2018), and Adultery (2018) judgments. As a result, over the years, courts have been inconsistent on this question —in some cases they have relied on religious texts to determine essentiality, in others on the empirical behaviour of followers, and in yet others, based on whether the practice existed at the time the religion originated. Hence only statement 2 is correct.