MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought a response from the Tiruchendur Subramaniya Swamy temple and its Swathanthira Parabalana Sthalathar Sabha on a PIL filed by the latter over the timings chosen by the temple authorities for celebrating Avani Mahotsavam.
According to the sabha’s secretary S Muthukrishnan Ayyar, a Vidhayagar is traditionally responsible for fixing timings for all religious activities and ceremonies in the above temple. Based on the request of the devasthanam on December 5, 2025, the Vidhayagar had prepared a panchangam containing auspicious timings for conducting festivals, rituals and ceremonies in the temple this year. Upon further request, the same was communicated through a ‘Thirunal muhurtha pattolai’ on July 7, he added.
As per the communication, flag hoisting for the Mahotsavam should take place on August 31 between 9:00 am and 9:22 am. However, contrary to the recommendation of the Vidhayagar, the joint commissioner of the temple has decided to conduct the flag hoisting between 5:15 am and 5:40 am, Muthukrishnan alleged. Claiming that this departure in timing violates the established customs and practices of the temple, he sought the court’s intervention.
When a bench of Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel heard the matter on Thursday, the counsel representing the temple contended that the rights of the petitioner sabha and the Vidhayagar, who is a member of the sabha, were the subject matter of a civil suit and the said suit was ultimately rejected. He further claimed that the temple administration obtained a second opinion from various experts, and they had all suggested that the best timing for conducting the flag hoisting would be between 5:00 am and 5:30 am, he added.
Hearing this, the judges directed the counsels from both sides to get instructions on the materials relied upon by them for suggesting the above timings and the reasons why they reject the timings suggested by the other side. The case was adjourned to Friday.
