Madras HC Slams DMK Govt, Waqf Board; Allows Temple To Light Deepam At Thiruparankundram Hill

In a sharp rebuke to the Tamil Nadu administration, the Madras High Court on Tuesday criticised the government for raising an imaginary ghost of law and order concerns and dismissed a claim by the Waqf Board as "mischievous," while upholding the right to light the sacred Karthigai Deepam lamp at the contested Thiruparankundram hill.

A Division Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan endorsed a single-judge order, allowing the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple to conduct the ritual on a stone pillar, known as the 'Deepathoon', on the hillock's lower peak.

The Court minced no words in rejecting the State's argument that the lamp-lighting could disrupt public peace and stated that it was hard to believe that an act by temple management on temple land could create law and order issue unless it is sponsored by the government itself, Bar and Bench reported.

In a pointed remark, the Bench added, "We pray that no State should stoop to that level to achieve their political agenda." It simultaneously rejected the Waqf Board's submission that the stone pillar belonged to the adjacent Sikkandar Badhusha Dargah, labelling the argument as without merit.

The landmark judgment brings judicial closure to a heated dispute over the hillock, a shared sacred space housing both the historic Hindu temple and the Muslim dargah. The Bench noted that that there was not formidable evidence produced by those challenging the order to show the practice was forbidden by the Agama Shastras. It added that lighting a lamp at an elevated place is a practice meant for all Hindu devotees to see, leaving the temple management with no plausible reason to refuse the devotees' request.

To ensure the ritual's peaceful conduct and the site's preservation, the Court laid down stringent guidelines. It directed that only officials of the temple devasthanam would be permitted to ascend to the pillar to light the lamp, expressly prohibiting the general public from accompanying them. The District Collector has been tasked with supervising the event, while the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) can impose conditions necessary to protect the monument, as per the report.

The ruling culminated in a call for communal harmony. "We want a peaceful coexistence of both the parties... Everyone should have freedom of religion without disturbing the other," the Bench asserted, framing its detailed guidelines as a blueprint for both communities to celebrate their festivals on the hillock without discord.

Last month, Justice G.R. Swaminathan allowed a petition to light the Deepam at the original Deepathoon site, noting the dargah was safely over 50 meters away. The state government's subsequent refusal to comply, opting instead to light the lamp at a mid-hill Ganesh temple and approaching the Supreme Court, had sparked protests.

The conflict is deeply rooted, with devotees claiming the lamp burnt atop the pillar for over 1,300 years until it stopped nearly 80 years ago. The site has witnessed periodic tensions for decades, including fatal unrest in 1994, making the Court's strong push for orderly coexistence a significant intervention in a long-standing socio-religious narrative.

Credit: Oneindia