NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the made snana ritual, which was earlier allowed by the Karnataka High Court.
The bench dismissed a contention that it is an age-old practice and it should be allowed.
The stay came following the Tribal Welfare Association’s petition against the High Court order.
Earlier, the High Court had passed an interim order allowing made snana to be practised in its traditional form at the Kukke Sri Subrahmanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district. This came in the wake of a petition by Adivasi Budakattu Hitarakshana Vedike, which sought a stay on the 2012 High Court order.
Later, following a petition by Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swamiji of the Nidumamidi Mutt and several progressive thinkers, the High Court allowed the modification of the practice.
As per the modified ritual, people from the lower caste had to roll on the food offered to the deity and not the food left over by the Brahmins. The High Court had also observed that the ritual was being followed for ages and was not forced upon anyone.