Madras High Court upholds single-judge directive to light Karthigai lamp atop Thiruparankundram hill; slams State

The Madras High Court on Tuesday upheld a single-judge's decision to allow the lighting of a Karthigai Deepam at a stone pillar on the lower of two peaks atop the Thiruparankundram hillock, which houses both the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy and the Sikkandar Badhusha Dargah..A Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan ordered,"The Devasthanam must light the lamp at the Deepathoon... ASI shall impose conditions necessary to protect the monuments on the hill. The Devasthanam, through their team, must light the lamp at the Deepathoon on the event of Karthigai Deepam festival. No public shall be allowed to accompany the Devasthanam team. Number of team members to be decided in consultation with ASI and the police. District Collector shall coordinate and supervise the event.".The Court today observed that those challenging the lamp lighting had not produced any formidable evidence to show that the lighting of this lamp is not permitted by the Agama Shastras."Till the end, the appellants have failed to produce formidable evidence to show that Agama Sastra of Saivites prohibits lighting lamp at a place which is not straight on top of the deity in Sanctum sanctorum; nor it is the case of the Devasthanam or the Government that lighting deepam is not a custom prevailing in Thirupankundram Hill," it held.The Bench also rejected arguments that law and order may be disrupted if the lamp is lit atop the hill. The Court said that it is ridiculous and hard to believe the fear of mighty state that the lighting of this lamp by the temple management on temple land could cause a disturbance to public peace, unless such disturbances are sponsored by the State itself. "We pray that no State should stoop to that level to achieve their political agenda," the Court added. .Ridiculous to believe fear of the mighty State that allowing representatives of Devasthanam to light the lamp will cause disturbance...Of course, it may happen only if such disturbance is sponsored by the State itself...Madras High Court.The Bench commented that the State's apprehensions of public peace disturbances that may ensue if the lamp is lit, is nothing but an imaginary ghost created conveniently, which has created mistrust between communities."We find that the apprehension expressed by the district administration regarding probability of disturbance of public peace is nothing but an imaginary ghost created by them for their convenience sake and to put one community against another community under suspicion and constant mistrust," the Bench said. .The Court further criticised the "mischievous" submission made by the waqf board that the stone pillar belongs to dargah. The Court concluded that the temple devasthanam (management) must light the lamp at the stone pillar, namely the Deepathoon. The Division Bench has not found any merit in the State's reservations about whether the stone pillar in focus is a Deepathoon. "The stone pillar with provision to light lamp, in Tamil called as ‘Deepathoon’. The location of the pillar is in the portion of the hill declared by a competent civil Court as property of the Devasthanam. The Waqf Board, as on date have no locus in this matter. For the first time in the course of argument in the intra Court appeals, on behalf of the Waqf a mischievous submission was made that the lamp pillar belongs to Dharga. This plea we would say, had deterred and added yet another reason for the other side to be skeptical about the offer made by the Waqf Board for Court monitoring mediation," it said..The Court further observed that religious practices always have reasons and that the practice of lighting deepam at elevated place is there for all Hindu devotees at the foothill to see and worship.When such a customary practice is in place, there is no plausible reason for temple management to not comply with devotees' request to light the lamp, the Court held..The Court added that the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) can impose conditions to preserve the monuments at the hill. It also directed that public should not be allowed to accompany temple devasthanam for lighting of the lamp at Deepathoon. The District collector was directed to supervise and coordinate the event. The Court also orally said that the guidelines issued by it in its judgment could help both the Hindu and Muslim communities celebrate their festivals at the hillock, without disturbing each other. "We want a peaceful coexistence of both the parties. That can be done if there is some kind of understanding and uniformity. Please go through the order ...We say Constitution, natural resources, is common to all. Everyone should have freedom of religion without disturbing the other," the Bench added, after dictating the judgment today..The verdict was passed on appeals challenging a judgment passed by single-judge Justice GR Swaminathan after some temple devotees moved petitions seeking to light a Karthigai Deepam at a stone pillar atop the Thiruparankundram hillock.The single judge had ruled that the stone pillar was a Deepathoon (designed to hold lamps) and that the Hindu temple should restore the tradition of lighting the Karthigai Deepam atop the hill (in addition to lighting the lamp at an existing site at the Ucchi Pillayar temple).Justice Swaminathan further held that such a practice cannot be viewed as affecting the rights of the nearby Muslim shrine in any manner. The single-judge reasoned that, going by a civil court judgment from the 1920s, only some parts of the hill belonged to the dargah while the remaining areas - including the place where the Deepathoon lay - belonged to the temple..However, the authorities in Madurai reportedly blocked the attempt of the devotees to go up the hill to light the lamp at the stone pillar, citing public order risks. The Karthigai Deepam festival of 2025 passed without the lamp being lit atop the hill.This led to a contempt of court case being filed, which remains pending before Justice Swaminathan.Meanwhile, the State authorities (including the Madurai magistrate and police commissioner), the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board and the dargah filed appeals challenging Justice Swaminathan's directives..Among other arguments, counsel representing the authorities in Madurai contended that there is no basis to call the stone pillar a Deepathoon.Advocate General PS Raman further contended that there is no proven tradition of lighting the said pillar for Karthigai Deepam. He questioned whether Justice Swaminathan could have ordered the restoration of a practice which was not a usual one in Thiruparankundram. He maintained that the only avenue to settle this dispute is for the Hindu devotees to send a representation under Section 63 of the Hindu Rights and Charitable Endowments Act (HR&CE Act) for an inquiry, where the authority can examine if there is an established religious usage involved.The Court today dismissed this argument as well, holding that Section 63, HRCE Act is not an efficacious alternate remedy. .The hearings also saw the Waqf Board suggest that the dispute could be settled by mediation, a request endorsed by the State. However, the Hindu devotees expressed strong reservations against such a course of action, noting that mediation could unnecessarily delay the matter. They also contended that it was the Hindu side that had to retreat and give up some of their rights each time such an alternative dispute mechanism, such as peace meets, was held. They added that the State's idea of coexistence comes at the cost of surrendering the rights of Hindus..[Read Judgment].[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.