On 28 September 2018 the Supreme Court ruled 4:1 that women of all ages could enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. When it reopened on 17 October, devotees' groups, the Pandalam royal family, the BJP and RSS-linked groups blocked women at Nilakkal and Pamba, and police used batons on stone-throwing crowds. More than 3,000 people were arrested that month. Two women entered before dawn on 2 January 2019, the temple was shut for purification, and a hartal the next day turned violent. The legal question is still before the Supreme Court.
Key takeaways
- The Supreme Court's 4:1 verdict of 28 September 2018 lifted the bar on women aged 10 to 50; Kerala's LDF government said it would enforce it, and the Pandalam royal family, the NSS, the BJP and Hindu groups protested.
- On 17 October 2018 protesters turned back women and attacked journalists at Nilakkal and Pamba; police arrested more than 3,300 people by late October.
- Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga entered on 2 January 2019; the 3 January hartal brought violence, one death at Pandalam and 3,282 arrests.
- The review went to a larger bench in 2019; a nine-judge bench reserved judgment on 14 May 2026, and no verdict had been reported by 12 October 2026.
Background: the custom and the verdict
Girls under 10 and women over 50 could worship at the hilltop Ayyappa shrine, but women aged 10 to 50 were barred IANS via Business Standard. The temple's position is that its deity is celibate Al Jazeera. The Kerala High Court formalised the bar in 1991 Gulf Times.
In Indian Young Lawyers Association v State of Kerala, the majority held that the exclusion violated women's freedom of worship under Article 25(1), struck down the rule allowing exclusion by custom, and held that Ayyappa devotees are not a separate denomination. Justice Indu Malhotra dissented: equality under Article 14 cannot override the right to religion under Article 25, she held, and courts must respect a denomination's practices whether or not they seem rational SC Observer.
How the protests started
On 3 October Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ruled out a review. "The Supreme Court verdict is final and the government has no option but to implement it," he said Scroll. The Pandalam royal family, whose ancestor in legend adopted Ayyappa, said the verdict would "destroy" its promise to the deity and led a march on 2 October The News Minute. The Nair Service Society (NSS) filed a review petition LiveLaw.
17 to 19 October: Nilakkal and Pamba
The temple opened on the evening of 17 October. At the base camps of Nilakkal and Pamba, crowds turned back women devotees. The Wire reported that at least six journalists were threatened or attacked, including women reporters from The News Minute, India Today, Republic TV and CNN-News18, and had to be rescued by police The Wire. The CNN-News18 reporter said on air: "It was shocking that officers were there doing nothing" Gulf Times.
Police used batons on protesters who threw stones at vehicles Gulf Times. Three policemen and five protesters were reported injured The Wire. Video posts in the Tribune's live coverage, one credited to ANI, described police throwing stones at Nilakkal and damaging parked vehicles at Pamba Claim · video posts Tribune; no police response was found in the sources reviewed. Section 144 orders were imposed at Pamba, Nilakkal and Elavungal ANI.
Activist Rahul Easwar, of the head priest's family, was arrested at Pamba after saying the protests would be "non-violent, non-communal and non-political" Tribune. On 18 October, during a shutdown called by Hindu groups and the BJP, a journalist for a foreign outlet turned back midway after a stone hit her shoulder. She said police "tried to do their best" PTI via Deccan Herald.
On 19 October about 100 police led by IG S Sreejith escorted two women almost to the shrine. The head priest, Kandararu Rajeevaru, said he would close the temple if they went ahead, and the women agreed to return ANI. Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the two were activists and the state was "duty-bound to protect the rights of the devotees" IANS. The temple closed on 22 October without any woman of the barred age entering Scroll.
Mass arrests and the High Court
On 25 October police chief Loknath Behera said 1,400 people had been arrested in two days and 440 cases registered; police released photographs of more than 200 suspects PTI via Oneindia. IANS counted more than 3,345 arrests and 517 cases by 28 October IANS via Morung Express, and Mathrubhumi over 3,557 arrests and 531 cases by 30 October Scroll.
The Kerala High Court warned the state it would pay a heavy price if innocent people were arrested, and asked police to report on action against those identified in the violence and against police accused of "atrocities" PTI via Business Standard. BJP workers held a hunger strike outside the police chief's office Scroll.
The pilgrimage season under prohibitory orders
For the season from 16 November, the state imposed Section 144 at the temple complex, Nilakkal and Pamba The News Minute. BJP general secretary K Surendran was taken into custody at Nilakkal on 17 November. The next night police detained men chanting at the Nadapanthal walkway; police said they were asked to disperse "but most of them refused" Scroll. Sixty-nine were remanded. The High Court reprimanded the police, while Vijayan maintained those held were RSS workers, not devotees PTI via Eastern Mirror.
On 21 November the court said chanting "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa" was no threat to law and order and pilgrims could move in groups The News Minute. The Supreme Court had agreed on 13 November to hear the reviews in open court The News Minute, and on 14 November declined to stay its verdict PTI via Tribune.
1 January 2019: the women's wall
On New Year's Day women lined up for 620 km from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram and pledged to "uphold Renaissance values" The News Minute. The LDF organised it with more than 176 groups, including the SNDP Yogam. Vijayan said: "Women's wall isn't a referendum on Sabarimala verdict. Government fund is not being used for it." The Quint
NPR cited government estimates of 3.5 million to 5 million women and noted critics' reports of gaps NPR; Al Jazeera reported "tens of thousands" Al Jazeera. Days earlier, devotees backing the custom had lit lamps from Kasaragod to Kanyakumari in the Ayyappa Jyothi The Quint.
2 January: the entry and the purification rite
At about 3.45 am on 2 January, Bindu Ammini, a lawyer and law teacher from Kozhikode, and Kanakadurga, a Civil Supplies Corporation employee from Malappuram, both in their forties, entered the shrine. They had sought police protection, climbed with plainclothes police, used a service entrance rather than the 18 holy steps, and stayed about five minutes. A 24 December attempt had been turned back Deccan Herald. Kanakadurga told The Quint that "not a single issue" was created by devotees and that she had no political links The Quint.
After consulting the Pandalam palace, the head priest closed the temple at about 10 am for purification and reopened it by 11 am Deccan Herald. Sasikumar Varma, speaking for the temple management, had said that if the entry was confirmed, "necessary purification rituals will be done" Gulf News.
The hartal, the Pandalam death and the arrests
Protesters attacked government offices that day and some got into the Secretariat Deccan Herald. That evening Chandran Unnithan, 52 (some reports say 55), a Sabarimala Karma Samithi member, was hit on the head in stone-throwing between rival groups at Pandalam and died that night. His family said the stones came from a CPI(M) office and blamed police negligence; police said the march had no permission. Two CPI(M) workers were taken into custody The News Minute.
Vijayan said Unnithan died of cardiac arrest, not stone injuries Claim · Chief Minister. The preliminary autopsy found skull injuries and bleeding caused his death Documented. The CPI(M) said the Samithi's marchers threw stones first Claim · CPI(M) The News Minute.
The Samithi's hartal on 3 January, backed by the BJP Deccan Herald, brought clashes between devotees, Left activists and police using tear gas and water cannon. AFP counted at least 15 injured, including four stabbed BJP supporters, and more than 750 arrests in two days AFP via Jakarta Post. By 5 January the police chief reported 1,286 cases and 3,282 arrests, as BJP-RSS and CPI(M) workers attacked houses in Kannur PTI via Onmanorama. In February the High Court ordered the Samithi's leaders booked and made to pay compensation The News Minute.
Timeline
Verdict
4:1 ruling lifts the bar SC Observer.
Nilakkal and Pamba
Women turned back, journalists attacked, batons used The Wire.
Mass arrests
Over 3,500 arrested by 30 October Scroll.
Sannidhanam arrests
69 chanters remanded PTI.
Women's wall
620-km chain The Quint.
Two women enter
Temple shut for purification Deccan Herald.
Hartal
3,282 arrested PTI.
Larger bench
Review referred by 3:2 SC Observer.
Judgment reserved
Nine-judge bench ends hearings LiveLaw.
The two positions
Kerala government's position
Government's position The LDF government said it was bound by the verdict: "Since the Supreme Court pronounced the verdict, it is the existing law" Scroll. Vijayan said protecting the women was "a constitutional responsibility which the government fulfilled", that "the Sangh Parivar has been consistently trying to make Sabarimala a spot of conflict", and that the hartal violence was "planned chaos". Devotees did not protest for hours after the entry, he said. "I am not a Chief Minister who is leading a movement to destroy faith." The head priest, a party to the case, should have quit if he could not follow the ruling, he said The News Minute. Minister Kadakampally Surendran blamed "RSS criminals who masqueraded as devotees" for the October violence The Wire. Minister KK Shailaja said: "Those saying that women are impure should be ashamed of themselves" Al Jazeera.
Protesters' position
Claim · NSS, Pandalam family, priests, BJP The NSS argued that the custom comes from the deity's character as a "naishtika brahmachari" (eternal celibate), not from any view of women, and is "not derogatory to the dignity of women". Waiting until 50 is not exclusion, it said, and most women worshippers backed the custom LiveLaw. The former head priest's counsel told the court the deity's celibacy would be eroded The News Minute. Sasikumar Varma of the Pandalam family said "the temple is of the devotees", the family would not compromise on customs, and the women escorted by police were part of "a script and a hidden agenda" PTI via Business Standard. A protester said "every religious place has its own traditions which cannot be overruled by a court of law" IANS. BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai accused the government of making the temple "a centre of dispute to destroy its uniqueness" Scroll, and the BJP called the January entry a Left conspiracy Deccan Herald.
The Congress joined protests at Nilakkal; its leader Ramesh Chennithala said "Congress is not attacking anybody" Tribune.
The disputed list of 51 women
On 18 January 2019 the Supreme Court ordered security for the two women, and the state's counsel said about 50 women had entered PTI via Tribune. A panel led by Chief Secretary Tom Jose found that 30 people on the list of 51 were over 50 and four were men, and blamed "undue haste" Onmanorama. Surendran later told the Assembly that only two women of that age had entered Documented The News Minute.
Outcome
- Arrests, Oct 2018: 3,345 to 3,557, with 517 to 531 cases IANS Scroll.
- Arrests, Jan 2019: 3,282, with 1,286 cases PTI.
- Death: Chandran Unnithan; two CPI(M) workers held The News Minute. The case outcome was not found in the sources reviewed.
- Temple board: Told the Supreme Court in February 2019 it would accept the verdict Al Jazeera.
- Cases withdrawn: In February 2021 the cabinet decided to drop cases "not of a serious criminal nature" from about 2,000 The News Minute.
What is still pending
On 14 November 2019 a five-judge bench voted 3:2 to send the reviews to a larger bench with related questions on mosques and female genital mutilation; Justices Nariman and Chandrachud dissented SC Observer. The 2018 verdict was not stayed, but in December 2019 the court said it was not the "final word" PTI via Tribune.
A nine-judge bench took up seven questions framed in 2020 on religious freedom. In February 2026 the Centre said it supported the review Bar and Bench, and in March the Devaswom Board resolved to oppose women's entry Onmanorama. The state government asked the court to consult religious scholars before any change, without saying women should be barred Kerala Kaumudi.
The bench reserved judgment on 14 May 2026 LiveLaw. Chief Justice Surya Kant indicated in August that a verdict could come in October Kerala Kaumudi. As of 12 October 2026 none had been reported.
Questions people ask
What did the Supreme Court decide on Sabarimala in 2018?
On 28 September 2018 it ruled 4:1 that barring women aged 10 to 50 violated their right to worship. Justice Indu Malhotra dissented.
Why do devotees oppose women's entry?
Groups such as the NSS say the custom follows from the deity's nature as an eternal celibate, not from any view that women are impure, and that courts should not test faith on rationality.
Who were the first women to enter after the verdict?
Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga, on 2 January 2019, with police protection. They spoke publicly about it afterwards.
How many people were arrested?
3,345 to 3,557 by late October 2018, by different counts, and 3,282 more after the January 2019 hartal.
Is the 2018 verdict still in force?
Yes. It was never stayed. A nine-judge bench reserved judgment on the related questions on 14 May 2026.
Sources
- SC Observer: Sabarimala Temple Entry, plain-English summary of judgment
- Scroll: Kerala will not challenge Supreme Court's Sabarimala verdict, says Pinarayi Vijayan, 3 Oct 2018
- The News Minute: Pandalam royal family, Hindu groups in Kerala to protest against Sabarimala verdict, 1 Oct 2018
- IANS via Business Standard: Hindu bodies hold protests in Kerala on Sabarimala verdict, 2 Oct 2018
- LiveLaw: NSS seeks review of Sabarimala judgment, 8 Oct 2018
- The Wire: On Day One, women barred from entering Sabarimala; six journalists attacked, 18 Oct 2018
- Tribune: Tension brews at Sabarimala opening, 17 Oct 2018
- Gulf Times: Clashes erupt as activists block women from temple, 18 Oct 2018
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Devotees force woman journalist to go back, 18 Oct 2018
- ANI via Business Standard: 2 women return as head priest threatens to close temple, 19 Oct 2018
- IANS via Business Standard: Women skip Sabarimala temple after huge protests, 19 Oct 2018
- PTI via Business Standard: Sabarimala temple belongs to devotees, not TDB, says Pandalam royal family, 24 Oct 2018
- PTI via Oneindia: 1,400 arrested in connection with Sabarimala protests, 26 Oct 2018
- IANS via Morung Express: Over 3,345 Sabarimala protesters arrested, 28 Oct 2018
- PTI via Business Standard: Genuine devotees will be given all help at Sabarimala, Kerala govt to HC, 29 Oct 2018
- Scroll: Kerala BJP workers begin hunger strike against arrest of protestors, 30 Oct 2018
- PTI via Tribune: SC declines to stay its verdict allowing all women into Sabarimala, 14 Nov 2018
- Scroll: Police take 68 people into preventive custody at Sabarimala, 19 Nov 2018
- PTI via Eastern Mirror: Sabarimala stand-off, 69 people remanded, HC raps police action, 19 Nov 2018
- The News Minute: After HC orders, Kerala lifts restrictions at Sabarimala, 22 Nov 2018
- The News Minute: Kerala's wall of resistance, 1 Jan 2019
- The Quint: Kerala women form human wall for gender equality, 1 Jan 2019
- NPR: Millions of women in India join hands to form a 385-mile wall of protest, 4 Jan 2019
- Deccan Herald: Kerala erupts as two women enter Sabarimala temple, 3 Jan 2019
- Al Jazeera: Two Indian women enter Sabarimala temple amid protests, 2 Jan 2019
- Gulf News: Two women enter Sabarimala temple, 2 Jan 2019
- The Quint: "No devotee troubled us", interview with Kanakadurga, 2 Jan 2019
- The News Minute: 1 killed in stone-pelting, 2 CPI(M) workers in custody, 3 Jan 2019
- The News Minute: Chandran died of skull injuries, says preliminary autopsy report, 3 Jan 2019
- The News Minute: If Thantri can't implement SC order, he should have resigned, says Kerala CM, 3 Jan 2019
- AFP via Jakarta Post: India arrests 750 in flashpoint temple clashes, 4 Jan 2019
- PTI via Onmanorama: Unease in Kerala after violence over Sabarimala, 6 Jan 2019
- PTI via Tribune: SC orders security for 2 Kerala women who entered Sabarimala, 18 Jan 2019
- Onmanorama: Not 51, govt revises Sabarimala list to 17, 25 Jan 2019
- The News Minute: Not 51, just two women below 50 entered Sabarimala, Kerala govt admits, 5 Feb 2019
- Al Jazeera: Sabarimala temple board reverses opposition to entry of women, 7 Feb 2019
- The News Minute: Book Sabarimala Karma Samithi leaders for Jan 3 hartal, says Kerala HC, 22 Feb 2019
- The News Minute: Sabarimala review, the petitioners and their pleas, 13 Nov 2019
- SC Observer: Sabarimala review, judgment pronouncement, 14 Nov 2019
- PTI via Tribune: Larger SC bench to hear Sabarimala issue, 6 Dec 2019
- The News Minute: Kerala govt to withdraw cases against Sabarimala, anti-CAA protesters, 25 Feb 2021
- Bar and Bench: Supreme Court 9-judge bench to hear Sabarimala reference from April 7, 16 Feb 2026
- Onmanorama: TDB passes resolution opposing women's entry in Sabarimala, 2 Mar 2026
- Kerala Kaumudi: Kerala govt files affidavit on Sabarimala women entry issue, 15 Mar 2026
- LiveLaw: Sabarimala reference, Supreme Court 9-judge bench reserves verdict after 16 days hearing, 14 May 2026
- Kerala Kaumudi: Sabarimala women's entry, SC to pronounce verdict in October, 11 Aug 2026