NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s top court on Tuesday agreed to review its ruling that removed a ban on women of menstruating age from entering a centuries-old Hindu temple in the southern state of Kerala, following widespread protests against the decision.

FILE PHOTO: Hindu devotees wait in queues inside the premises of the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta district in the southern state of Kerala, India, October 18, 2018. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File photo

Thousands of people have been demonstrating against the Supreme Court’s decision in September to lift a centuries-old ban on women or girls between the ages of 10 years to 50 entering the Sabarimala hill temple.

Conservative Hindu groups prevented about a dozen young women from entering the temple last month believing it would defile the sacred shrine and petitioned the court to reconsider its decision.

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