The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Raghavendra Thirtha Swami challenging a Kerala High Court judgment that allowed the current head of Kashi Math Samsthan, Samyamindra Thirtha Swami, to pursue execution proceedings for the recovery of Math valuables.
In an order passed on Tuesday, September 15, a division bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M Pancholi rejected Raghavendra Thirtha Swami’s special leave petition. The bench noted that it found no viable grounds to entertain the challenge, leaving the high court ruling intact.
Kerala High Court Substitution Upheld
The decision clears the way for Samyamindra Thirtha Swami to continue the recovery process as the substituted decree holder. He stepped into the proceedings following the demise of his predecessor and original decree holder, Sudhindra Thirtha Swami, who passed away in January 2017.
During the hearing, senior advocate Guru Krishna Kumar and advocate Lakshmeesh S Kamath, representing Samyamindra Thirtha Swami, maintained that the Kerala High Court had rightfully permitted him to replace the late pontiff without requiring fresh sanction from the Tirupati court that issued the initial decree.
The Kashi Math Samsthan, commonly known as the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin Kashi Math, is headquartered in Varanasi.
Decades of Succession Litigation
The legal confrontation traces back to an internal rift over the leadership and property administration of the Samsthan between Sudhindra Thirtha Swami and Raghavendra Thirtha Swami, who asserted that he was the identified successor.
In 2000, Raghavendra Thirtha Swami approached the Additional District Court in Tirupati seeking a formal declaration that he was the lawful 21st pontiff of the Math. His suit also sought a permanent injunction to prevent Sudhindra Thirtha Swami and the Math’s Tirumala branch from intervening in administrative affairs.
On January 28, 2009, the Tirupati trial court dismissed his suit. The court issued a permanent injunction barring Raghavendra Thirtha Swami from meddling in the administration of the Samsthan and ordered him to surrender all deities, religious articles, and properties to Sudhindra Thirtha Swami. Raghavendra Thirtha Swami appealed the verdict, but the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad dismissed his plea and affirmed the trial court’s directions on June 1, 2015.
Jurisdiction Transfer and Will Dispute
Execution of the decree later shifted south after Raghavendra Thirtha Swami raised questions regarding the territorial jurisdiction of the Tirupati court. The matter was transferred to the Additional District Court in Ernakulam, a move confirmed by the Kerala High Court on September 5, 2011.
While the execution process remained pending, Sudhindra Thirtha Swami died on January 16, 2017, in Haridwar. Through a will, the late seer named Samyamindra Thirtha Swami as his successor. Raghavendra Thirtha Swami contested the will, challenging its legality, enforceability, and validity.
Samyamindra Thirtha Swami subsequently petitioned the Ernakulam court to replace Sudhindra Thirtha Swami in the execution matter. The Ernakulam court held that he had to first obtain a substitution order from the original decree court in Tirupati.
On appeal, the Kerala High Court overturned the Ernakulam court’s directive in an order dated August 3, 2026, granting Samyamindra Thirtha Swami direct substitution in the recovery proceedings. With the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the special leave petition, that substitution stands affirmed.
