Madras High Court reaffirms exclusive ritual rights of Thengalai sect at Devarajaswamy Temple in Kancheepuram

Key facts

• Madras high court has reaffirmed that only the Thengalai sub-sect of Sri Vaishnava holds exclusive rights to lead religious recitations and rituals at the Sri Devarajaswamy Temple in Kancheepuram.
• The court observed that earlier landmark judgments from 1882, 1915, 1939, and 1969 already determined that the Adhyapaka Mirasi rights belong exclusively to the Thengalai sect residing in Kanchipuram.
• The bench ruled that these findings continue to remain legally valid and enforceable, noting that the Vadagalai sect’s participation must be limited to joining the recitation as worshippers without independent invocation.