The Kerala government filed a fresh affidavit before the Supreme Court on March 14, 2026, arguing that any change to the centuries-old custom restricting the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 into the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple should occur only after wide consultations with eminent religious scholars and social reformers, according to reporting by The Hindu, Times of India, and Indian Express.
The submission was made through Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta on behalf of the LDF administration led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The affidavit argued that the constitutional question of whether a religious belief is genuinely and conscientiously held should be the focus of judicial inquiry, and that an expert commission should be constituted before any verdict on temple customs is delivered, according to the research documents.
A Reversal from 2018
The position represents a significant departure from the stance adopted by the same administration following the Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict that struck down the age-based restriction. At that time, the Kerala government actively facilitated the implementation of the court’s order, including providing police escort to activists Bindu Ammini and Kanaka Durga when they entered the shrine. The shift in the March 14 affidavit — reverting to a position closer to the 2007 affidavit suggesting an expert commission — has been widely interpreted as an electoral recalibration, according to the research documents.
The LDF’s 2018 position contributed to a severe defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where the alliance lost 19 out of 20 seats in Kerala, attributed in large part to the alienation of the devotee community, according to the research documents. With Assembly elections approaching in 2026, the CPI(M) state secretariat and the Travancore Devaswom Board have collaborated to present a stance that is, according to the research documents, aligned with ritual and traditional practice.
Opposition Reactions
Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan of the Congress accused the Chief Minister of abandoning his declared progressive stance to deceive the faithful, according to Indian Express. BJP leader V. Muraleedharan alleged that the government was creating a false impression without formally withdrawing its earlier legal support for women’s entry, according to the same reporting. The BJP has also demanded the withdrawal of over 10,000 cases registered against participants in the Nama Japa Yatra protests of 2018 and 2019, according to the research documents.
Congress leader K.C. Venugopal stated that the government’s reversal was directly connected to the upcoming elections, according to The Hindu. The Supreme Court is yet to pronounce on the matter; the constitutional bench proceedings are ongoing.
