Plea against Guruvayoor Temple not holding Udayasthamana Pooja: SC issues notice

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice in a plea challenging the Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple administration's decision not to conduct 'udayasthamana pooja' on 'vrishchikam ekadasi' day, citing public convenience. The Kerala High Court earlier upheld this decision in its judgment on December 7, 2024, reported LiveLaw.

"Pooja has been stopped on the pretext of causing inconvenience to the public. Pooja is for the deity. For increasing the divinity of the deity. So, this cannot be as per the public. Management may find a way to manage things. How far this reason is justified, we have to examine this point," observed Justice Maheshwari

A bench of Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice Rajesh Bindal issued notice to the respondents, including the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee, tantri and the state government, returnable in four weeks.

Meanwhile, the court directed that there should not be any change in the scheduled daily poojas. "In the meanwhile, we observe that the chart of the daily Pooja as available on the website shall not be changed or deleted", the court said in its order.

The petitioners wanted the pooja to happen on Wednesday from 6 am. However, no pooja was conducted as the Kerala High Court had upheld the management's decision. As the pooja time had passed, Justice Maheshwari said that no interim relief could be provided today. He said the court is prima facie satisfied with the petitioners' case.

Background
The dispute arose from a decision by the temple administration, supported by the tantri, to forego the 'udayasthamana pooja' on 'vrishchikam ekadasi', citing difficulties in crowd management and a desire to allow more devotees time for darshan. The appellants, who are members of the temple's hereditary priestly family, challenged this decision, contending that it violated age-old customs and rituals.

The temple administration and the tantri, however, maintained that the pooja is not an indispensable ritual but a form of offering (vazhipadu), which has been altered in the past to accommodate practical considerations. The administration also highlighted that the change was made in consultation with the tantri after determining that it would not adversely affect the temple's rituals or traditions.

The high court said that the question of whether the performance of pooja in the temple on 'vrishchikam ekadasi' is part of the temple traditions (acharams) or an offering (vazhipadu), is a disputed question of facts.