India, Jan. 29 -- In a significant move to resolve one of the longest-running religious disputes, the Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed former judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul as principal mediator to settle the 120-year-old conflict between two sects of Sri Vaishnavas over the performance of rituals at the historic Sri Devarajaswamy Temple at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing an appeal of S Narayanan challenging a Madras High Court verdict that dismissed a petition seeking permission for the Vadakalai sect to recite prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The dispute pertains to ritual recitals within the temple, where historically the Thenkalai sect has...