Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan argued for the review petitioners in Sabarimala Reference before a 9-judge Bench. Cautioning against adopting a restrictive interpretation of “religious denomination,” she argued that such an approach risks diluting fundamental rights under the Constitution. She submitted that courts have increasingly treated limitations as central, rather than the rights themselves.

“Instead of treating the right as fundamental, it is restrictions which have been treated as fundamental… if there are two interpretations available, the court must adopt the meaning which furthers the fundamental right rather than constrict it into a ‘tick-the-boxes’ test,” she argued.

Ms Divan warned that a rigid approach would disadvantage less organised or grassroots religious communities. She submitted that this could result in unequal protection of religious freedom, where groups with greater resources and organisational capacity enjoy stronger constitutional safeguards than others:

“Are you an organisation? Are you this? Are you that?… such an approach will lead to a sort of survival of the fittest. He who has the resources, he who has the organisational skills and the wherewithal will be able to get the recognition…It is a recipe for my Lord’s competition to gain denominational status. It will lead to polarisation.”

Placing her argument in a broader constitutional context, Ms Divan emphasised that Articles 25 and 26 must be read together. While Article 25 guarantees individual freedom of religion, Article 26 exists to support and enable that freedom through institutional structures. She submitted that sacred groves in western Rajasthan are community-based, nature-centric worship practices that often lack formal organisation but represent deeply rooted belief systems.

Ms Divan concluded by urging the court to adopt an interpretation that expands, rather than restricts, the scope of religious freedom, ensuring that constitutional protections remain accessible to all belief systems, including those that are informal, decentralised, or community-driven.