The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (April 9, 2026) said a person who wants to visit a temple has to follow the sampradaya (traditional practices) of the shrine or stay out.
The court, in the Sabarimala reference, said people may have their own personal beliefs, but the rituals and observances of a temple have to be followed if one desires to worship there.
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“You may have your own personal belief, but you cannot try to change the practice or sampradaya followed in a temple... Either you adhere to it or leave it. In Kerala, in some temples, you have to wear dhoti. If you cannot do it, you cannot enter there… There is no choice, except to go under the sampradaya attached to a temple or a denomination. The moment you question the practice, you go out of the denomination,” Justice M.M. Sundresh, a member of the nine-judge Bench, said.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading the Bench, said that in Guruvayoor temple, devotees have to take off their shirts to enter. “In gurdwaras, you have to cover your head,” he said.
