New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat on a plea by a Parsi woman challenging the constitutional validity of the religious custom that ostracized her for marrying a non-Parsi man. She described the practice as gender discriminatory because the rule does not apply to a Parsi man marrying a non-Parsi woman.Appearing for Dina Budhraja, senior advocate Shyam Divan told the Supreme Court that Rule 5(2) of the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat Constitution violated Articles 21, 21 and 25 of the Constitution as it discriminates against women, subjecting them to exclusion, denial of religious access and loss of identity if they marry a non-Parsi, while Parsi men have no such disability. The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi. Issued notice to Nagpur Parsi Panchayat, Central Government and Ministry of Minority Affairs and said it will examine what interim relief can be granted to the petitioner.The 43-year-old petitioner said that the discriminatory practice under Rules 5(2) and 5(3) is clear. “A Parsi man who marries a non-Parsi woman retains his identity and access to religious institutions, while a Parsi woman is stripped of both. The classification is based solely on gender and fails the test of fair classification under Article 14,” she said in her petition.Budhraja, who married a Hindu man in 2009 and has a son and daughter, said she has not given up her religion. “Despite professing and continuing to practice the Zoroastrian religion, the petitioner has not been deemed to be a Parsi by virtue of her marriage with a Hindu man, merely by virtue of Rule 5(2),” her petition said. “Many other Parsi Panchayats, including those in Delhi and Kolkata, do not subscribe to such discriminatory practices and treat men and women equally. Therefore, the practice followed by the Nagpur Parsi Panchayat is neither uniform nor essential to the Zoroastrian religion,” Budhraja said in his petition.