New Delhi, Sept. 20 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine whether practice of excommunication in the Dawoodi Bohra community can continue as a "protected practice" against the backdrop of the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2016.

A five-judge bench, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, A.S. Oka, Vikram Nath, and J.K. Maheshwari, will begin the hearing on the matter on October 11. The reference to a five-judge constitution bench was based on a 1962 judgment of another five-judge nench in the Sardar Syedna Taher Saifuddin vs the State of Bombay case.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on his part, submitted that the matter c...