Madras High Court allows lighting of Karthigai Deepam at Thiruparankundram hill

New Delhi, Jan 6: The Madras High Court on Tuesday upheld a single-judge order permitting the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at a stone pillar (Deepathoon) atop the Thiruparankundram hill in Madurai, strongly criticising the State’s objections and dismissing law-and-order concerns as unfounded. The hill houses both the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple and the Sikkandar Badhusha Dargah, reports Bar & Bench.  A Division Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan directed the temple devasthanam to light the lamp during the Karthigai Deepam festival under conditions to be imposed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to protect the monuments.

The Court ordered that no members of the public accompany the temple team and directed the district collector to coordinate and supervise the event, reports Bar & Bench.

As reported by Bar and Bench, the Court rejected claims that the practice violated Agama Shastras or threatened public peace, observing that fears of disturbance were “imaginary” unless sponsored by the State itself. The Bench also criticised the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board’s “mischievous” submission that the stone pillar belonged to the dargah, noting that a competent civil court had already declared the site to be temple property. The verdict came on appeals challenging an earlier ruling by Justice GR Swaminathan, who had held that the stone pillar was a Deepathoon and that lighting the lamp did not infringe upon the rights of the nearby Muslim shrine. The High Court reiterated the need for peaceful coexistence and said its guidelines would allow both communities to observe their religious practices without disturbing each other.