The Supreme Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to complete the classification of temples based on whether they follow Agama rules, granting a deadline of five months.
The court had earlier asked the state to separately identify temples that adhere to Agama prescriptions and those that do not, and to publish the list. The matter came up again on August 5 before a bench led by Justice Sundresh.
Appearing for the state, advocate Karunakaran told the court that officials are visiting each temple in person to verify compliance with Agama rules. Calling it an extensive exercise, he sought an additional eight months to finish the classification.
The bench declined the request and said only five months could be granted, adjourning the case. In an earlier hearing in March, the state had indicated that the identification work would be completed by August, but later sought more time, prompting the latest order.
