NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a Madras High Court order directing the administration of the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple to be handed over to a five-member committee.
A Bench comprising Justices Arvind Kumar and Vipul Pancholi, while hearing an appeal filed by the Dikshitars, stayed the High Court's October 30 order and issued notices to the respondents, including the Tamil Nadu government and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, seeking their responses.
"Having heard the arguments presented by the counsel for both sides, we have reached the conclusion that the impugned judgment should be stayed. Accordingly, it is stayed," the Supreme Court said.
The dispute concerns whether devotees should be allowed to ascend the Kanakasabha, a raised platform at the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple, for darshan (worship). The issue has developed into a conflict between devotees' right to worship and the Podhu Dikshitars' (hereditary priests and administrators) right to manage the temple.
The Kanakasabha is situated in front of the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Natarajar, where certain rituals are traditionally performed. Complaints had been raised over devotees being denied permission to ascend the platform for worship.
Following an inquiry into these complaints, the Cuddalore District Collector recommended in 2022 that devotees be allowed to access the Kanakasabha for worship. Based on this recommendation, the Tamil Nadu government issued a Government Order (GO) on May 17, 2022, permitting devotees to access the platform for darshan.
However, the Podhu Dikshitars, who enjoy hereditary rights to manage the temple, challenged the order before the Madras High Court, arguing that it infringed upon their right to administer the temple's religious affairs.
They relied on Article 26 of the Constitution and cited a 2014 Supreme Court judgment that had restored the temple's administration to the Dikshitars.
In its judgment delivered on October 30, 2026, the Madras High Court upheld the 2022 Government Order permitting devotees to have darshan from the Kanakasabha. The court observed that the order did not interfere with the rituals performed by the Dikshitars but merely regulated arrangements for public darshan.