New Delhi: A woman cannot be considered “untouchable” for three days in a month and then again on the fourth day. Supreme Court Judge BV Nagarathna made this comment on Tuesday during the hearing of other cases including Sabarimala issue.The remarks came when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said he took strong objection to the 2018 Sabarimala verdict’s observation that barring women aged 10 to 50 years from entering the temple amounts to “untouchability” under Article 17 of the Constitution. “Article 17 in the context of Sabarimala, I don’t know how it can be argued. Speaking as a woman, there cannot be three days of untouchability every month, and on the fourth day, there is no untouchability,” Justice Nagarathna.The comment came in response to Mehta saying: “India is not as patriarchal or gender stereotypical as the West perceives it to be.”In the Sabarimala case, Justice DY Chandrachud said that barring women from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, whether due to age or menstruation, amounts to “untouchability”, placing them in a “subordinate” position, reinforcing “patriarchy” and undermining their dignity.Mehta said the ban on women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple is not linked to menstruation, but has been imposed only on the basis of a specific age group.He said, “We must be clear. Sabarimala belongs only to a particular age group. There should be no confusion. Lord Ayyappa’s temples across the country and the world are open to women of all ages. This is the only temple which has this restriction. It is a normal matter.”The nine-judge bench was hearing petitions examining discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, and the extent and limits of religious freedom in different religions. The Constitution bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices BV Nagarathna, MM Sundaresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Arvind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi.