Chairman of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) P.S. Prashant said on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) that the last affidavit presented by the board in the Supreme Court in 2016 requested to protect the traditional customs and rituals associated with the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple.

P.S. Prashant told reporters that no new affidavit has been introduced since then and the previous affidavit is no longer relevant. He was answering the question whether TDB would change his stand in the Supreme Court regarding the entry of women of the menstrual age group in Lord Ayyappa temple.

The opposition party Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have asked TDB to clarify their stand on this issue. The TDB president said that in the last four-five years, all customs in the Sabarimala temple have been strictly followed without any lapse.

He said, ‘This case is pending before the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court. As far as TDB is concerned, an attempt was made to protect the customs and traditions of the temple on the issue of entry of women in the last affidavit presented by the board in 2016.

Referring to the smooth activities going on in the Lord Ayyappa temple, Prashant said that during the last annual pilgrimage, 54 lakh pilgrims visited this temple on the hill. The TDB president reached Pandalam here to invite the royal family members at Ayyappa Sangamam organized on 20 September in collaboration with the state government.

In 2018, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on the entry of women with menstrual age groups in the Sabarimala temple as unconstitutional. There were widespread protests after this decision and it is still under consideration before a large bench.

The Government of Marxist Communist Party (CPI -M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had to face strong criticism from a section of Ayyappa devotees, Congress -led coalition and Sangh Parivar to allow the entry of two women in the menstrual age group in the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.