Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishtha’: Bombay HC Dismisses Plea Challenging Public Holiday on Jan 22

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by four law students challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to declare a public holiday on January 22 for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The students—Shivangi Agarwal (20), Satyajit Salve (21), Vedant Agrawal (19), and Khushi Bangla (21)—challenged the government’s decision, arguing that it was arbitrary and beyond the state government’s authority to announce such a holiday.

Despite the challenge, multiple states and union territories, including Delhi, Jammu-Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Assam, have also declared a public holiday for the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Temple on January 22. Central government offices will have a half-working day, and public sector banks will remain closed until 2.30 pm.

The NSE (National Stock Exchange) and BSE (Bombay Stock Exhange) will also be closed on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla inside the sanctum sanctorum of the grand temple on January 22. Numerous leaders and dignitaries from various sectors have received invitations to the grand temple opening in Ayodhya. Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya commenced on January 16, a week before the main ceremony.