The Pandalam Palace Trust on Friday wrote a letter to functionaries of Sabarimala Temple asking them to shut down the temple in case of any breach of rituals.

The letter, which is addressed to executive officer and administrative officer of Sabarimala Devaswom, said that if anything happens at the temple against the rituals, it must be shut down.

In case of any breach of rituals, the temple should be reopened only after the Tantri (head priest) cleanses the shrine, the letter further said.

The Pandalam Royal family, who claimed to have a strong bond with Lord Ayyappa, had earlier said that if all women are allowed to enter the temple then the Lord would curse devotees with bad fortune.

The royal family had also organised a peaceful protest on October 12 against the Supreme Court’s verdict, which allowed entry of women of all age groups in the temple.

Earlier in the day, State Devaswom (religious trusts) Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that people of all ages would be allowed to go there, but at the same time the government won't allow it to be a place where activists can come and showcase their power. It can't be a place to stage their points of view, he added.

On September 28, the Supreme Court passed the verdict pronouncing that women, irrespective of their age, have the right to enter the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in Kerala. 

The letter comes amid showdown between the protesters and the women trying to enter the temple on Friday. Earlier in the day, two women who were en route to the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala agreed to return after the temple head priest (Tantri) Kandararu Rajeevaru threatened to shut down the temple if they attempted to force their way in. ‘We had brought them (journalist Kavitha Jakkal and woman activist Rehana Fatima) till the temple premises but Tantri refused to open the temple for them. While we were waiting, Tantri informed me that if we attempt to take the women ahead they would close the temple,’ Kerala Inspector General of Police (IGP) S. Sreejith told ANI.