The Supreme Court is scheduled to commence a review hearing on April 7 regarding the entry of women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala temple. In preparation for this, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), responsible for the temple's management, filed written submissions on March 24, 2026.
The TDB argued that the beliefs and practices of a community must be evaluated based on its own subjective understanding, asserting that the Supreme Court should accept these beliefs rather than sit in judgment of them. It suggested the court's purview should be limited to ascertaining if a belief or practice is, in fact, an integral part of the community's religion, assessed from the community's perspective.
Concurrently, the Kerala government submitted its own position on March 14, marking a moderation of its earlier firm stance in favor of women's entry. Its submission proposed that a judicial review concerning the age-old restriction on women's entry (between menarche and menopause) should determine if it constitutes an essential religious practice, suggesting such review should not be guided solely by reason or sentiment.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/court-cannot-sit-in-judgment-on-a-communitys-belief-says-travancore-devaswom-board/article70781103.ece
