Supreme Court Refuses to Decide Auspicious Time for Temple Ritual

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by the Vidhayahar (hereditary religious authority) of the Sri Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Thiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, challenging the scheduled timing of the temple’s Kumbhabhishekam (consecration) ceremony on July 7. 

The petitioner opposed the Madras High Court’s acceptance of a five-member Agama expert committee’s recommendation to conduct the ritual between 6:00 AM and 6:47 AM, claiming it violated his traditional authority, where he sought to fix the ceremony’s timing during a different time slot – 12:05 PM to 12:47 PM.

However, the Supreme Court held that it was not equipped to determine auspicious timings for religious rituals and found no grounds to interfere with the High Court’s decision.