Hyderabad, July 17 -- The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to first settle a long-pending dispute over which set of Hindu rituals should be followed at a temple in Palakurthi before going ahead with the recruitment of priests there.

The court asked the authorities not to proceed with a notification issued in November last year to fill priest posts at the Sri Someshwara Laxminarasimha Swamy Devasthanam until the government decides, through a formal order, whether the temple should follow the "Shaiva Agama" tradition, which reveres Lord Shiva as the Supreme Reality, or the "Vaidika Smartha Agama" tradition, a system of worship associated with the Smarta community.

Justice Surepalli Nanda directed the state to issue n...