India, Jan. 27 -- The Supreme Court will today take up a petition challenging the "VIP culture" at the Shri Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, months after it criticised the practice of wealthy and influential devotees being granted special access to temples in violation of established customs.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi is scheduled to hear a plea assailing the practice of allowing select devotees to enter the sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha) for performing rituals, while denying the same access to ordinary devotees.

The petition, filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, challenges an August 28, 2025, judgment of the Madhya Pradesh high court, which dismissed a publi...