Global Ayyappa Sangamam: Supreme Court agrees to hear plea

The Supreme Court today has agreed to urgently hear the petition mentioned before it challenging the Kerala High court's decision allowing the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and the state government to hold the “Global Ayyappa Sangamam” on 20 September 2025.

On 11 September, the Kerala High Court allowed the state and the TDB to conduct the ‘Global Ayyappa Sangamam’ at Pamba. A CJI Gavai led bench was told today that the sangamam cannot be held at the banks of Pamba river which holds some sanctity.

Earlier this month, the Kerala High Court on September 3, 2025, had admitted a public interest litigation challenging the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) decision to hold a “Global Ayyappa Sangamam” at Sabarimala and sought a detailed explanation from the Board on the nature and financing of the proposed programme.

The petitioner had argued that the event was essentially “political” in nature and could not be allowed to take place in the name of Lord Ayyappa. He also sought directions to remove temporary structures erected at or near the temple and the banks of the Pampa river, where the event is scheduled on September 20, contending that it would compromise the sanctity of the shrine.

Court, while refraining from making any determination at this stage, noted that there was a lack of clarity on what the event truly entailed. “What we have been told are peripheral things, which do not really explain the event fully,” the bench remarked, observing that the Board must act strictly within the mandate of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950.

In defence of the programme, the TDB’s standing counsel G. Biju submitted that the “Global Ayyappa Sangamam” was conceived to showcase Sabarimala as a global pilgrimage destination, to propagate the universal message of “Thathwamasi,” and to promote religious harmony and global unity. He further said the event coincided with the Platinum Jubilee of the TDB and stressed that no funds from the public exchequer or TDB resources would be spent. Instead, it was proposed to be financed entirely through sponsorships.

Court, however, sought greater transparency on this aspect. It directed the Board to file on record comprehensive details of the sponsorship arrangements, emphasising that they must come from “verifiable and credible sources.” The bench underlined that every step taken by the Board must align with its statutory duties and the trust reposed in it by millions of devotees. Appearing for the state, Senior Government Pleader S. Kannan clarified that the government had no role in organising the event. Its involvement, he said, would be confined to assisting with crowd management, given the large number of devotees expected to participate.

In its interim observations, the bench stressed that the Pampa riverbank, chosen as the venue, was to be treated with the “highest sanctity,” given its reverence as the “Dakshina Ganga” for Sabarimala devotees. The bench reminded the TDB that its responsibility lay solely in ensuring that the event preserved the religious ethos and spiritual purity of the temple surroundings. “Their duties and responsibilities are only to the religious institutions under the Act; bound in full by the trust, beliefs and conscience of the multitude of devotees on the deity,” the court observed.

Admitting the PIL, court directed the TDB to place full details of the event including its schedule, structure, and financing before the next hearing. The matter will be taken up again on September 9, 2025.

Mentioning Date: September 15, 2025

Bench: CJI Gavai, Justices Chandran and Chandurkar