New Delhi: There is a regular gazetted holiday on the occurrence of Muharram, but this year in 2025, a confusion has arisen. Some social media claims and reports say that banks and stock markets will be closed on 7 July (Monday) due to Muharram. At the time of writing this article, this confusion still persists. The confusion is arising because of the fact that Muharram is subject to the moon sighting. Therefore, if Muharram falls on 6th July, then there will be a market holiday as per the holiday data obtained from the NSE calendar. However, as per the data, there is no such holiday mentioned on the NSE and BSE calendars if Muharram falls on July 7th, 2025. Till now, no such holiday circular has been issued by the exchanges in this regard.

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic New Year and its 10th day, called ‘Ashura’, is celebrated in memory of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. On this day, government offices, banks, schools and markets remain closed in many places. In 2025, Muharram may fall on July 6 (Sunday) or July 7 (Monday). The final confirmation will be done only after the moon is sighted. If Muharram falls on July 6, then there will be no separate holiday because that day is Sunday, which means there will already be a holiday. But if Muharram is celebrated on July 7, then a holiday may be declared on Monday.

As per the RBI holiday calendar, there is no bank holiday on 7th July 2025. As of now, according to the calendar, Muharram is not occurring on a weekday in 2025; therefore, there is no public holiday on 7th July. At the time of writing this article, there was no such declaration from the government.

6th July is anyway a Sunday, on which the markets are closed. However, it has to be seen whether the stock market remain closed if Muharram falls on 7th July, 2025. As of now, there is no official confirmation from the exchanges in this regard.