Deepam row: Madras HC upholds order allowing lighting of lamp on hilltop; says law and order apprehension an 'imaginary ghost'

Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Jan 6 (PTI) The Madras High Court's Madurai bench on Tuesday upheld a single judge's order allowing the lighting of a lamp on the Thirupparankundram hill here, and slammed the DMK government, saying the apprehension about law and order due to this religious practice is nothing but an "imaginary ghost" created by them for the sake of their convenience.

The bench, comprising Justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan, also made it clear that the spot on which the stone pillar (Deepathoon) is located belongs to the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple and that the Waqf Board, as of date, has no locus in this matter.   "It is ridiculous and hard to believe the fear of the mighty State that by allowing representatives of the Devasthanam to light the lamp at the stone pillar near the top of the hill located within its territory of Devasthanam land, on a particular day in a year, will cause disturbance to public peace.  "Of course, it may happen only if such a disturbance is sponsored by the State itself. We pray no State should stoop to that level to achieve their political agenda," the bench said.

The case arose from a writ petition of one Rama Ravikumar and others seeking directions to light the sacred Deepam at the ancient stone pillar on Thirupparankundram hill during the annual Karthigai Deepam festival in November-December. On December 1, 2025, Justice G R Swaminathan allowed the petition and ordered that the ceremonial lamp be lit on the festival day.

However, the State, joined by the temple management and the Hazarath Sultan Sikkandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah at Thirupparankundram, filed appeals.

The state raised concerns over public order, claiming that lighting the lamp at the hilltop, which lies close to the dargah, could foment communal tensions.  "We find that the apprehension expressed by the District Administration regarding the probability of disturbance to the public peace is nothing but an imaginary ghost created by them for their convenience's sake and to put one community against another community under suspicion and constant mistrust," the bench said.

By allowing a few persons from the Devasthanam to the pillar for lighting the lamp and keeping the devotees stay at the foothill and worship is not an "unmanageable task, the court said.

"Projecting as if such congregation will cause disturbance to peace, stampede, disharmony among the community, etc, is either an exposure of their incapacity to maintain law and order, or are hesitant to bring harmony among the communities," it said.  The court verdict triggered strong reactions from the Tamil Nadu government, which indicated moving the Supreme Court in appeal against the order. While the BJP welcomed the court order, and described the DMK, Congress, and the opposition 'INDI alliance' as "anti-Hindu" and "anti-Sanatan".

Tamil Nadu Minister for Natural Resources S Regupathy faulted the judgment and said the government has a right to appeal in the Supreme Court.

"No evidence was provided to prove that Deepam was lit on the Deepathoon....Why a new practice should be introduced," the former Law minister asked.   Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, senior BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal termed the order a "slap on the face of the appeasement policy" of the opposition bloc and "victory of the Hindu religion".

"The two judges have given conclusive direction that this is an age-old practice. This is a matter of the Hindu religion and the sentiments of the local people...This order has clearly lifted the veil of the DMK government (in Tamil Nadu), Chief Minister M K Stalin, his son and deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Congress, and all the INDI alliance members," Goyal said.

In its order, the bench also said,"the Waqf Board, as on date, has no locus in this matter. For the first time in the course of the argument in the intra-court appeals, on behalf of the Waqf, a mischievous submission was made that the lamp pillar belongs to Dargah. 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." In our considered view, the State, through the district administration, should have taken this as an opportunity to bridge the difference between these two communities, the bench said, and added that they could have narrowed down the gap by peaceful and meaningful negotiation.  "Unfortunately, due to a lack of conviction, all these years, the peace meetings have paved the way only for widening the mistrust. We hope, by implementing the directions, which can be suitably modified whenever a festival of the respective community falls, there will be only light and not any fight," it said.

Noting that till the end, the appellants failed to produce "formidable evidence" to show that Agama Sastra of Saivites prohibits lighting the lamp at a place, which is not straight on top of the deity in the sanctum sanctorum, the court observed "nor is it the case of the Devasthanam (management) or the Government that lighting deepam is not a custom prevailing in Thiruparankundram Hill." In its order, the HC bench also asserted that the court had given liberty to the worshippersto seek a change of place for lighting Deepam at any other part of the hill owned by the Devasthanam with a restriction of 15 meters from the Dargah property to ensure safety to the property.

"The spirit of the direction is to ensure safety. Therefore, we clarify that the distance restriction suggested by the learned Judge is not a sine qua non to fix the place of lighting the Deepam. The safety of the Dargah property alone is sine qua non while fixing the alternate or additional place of lighting the Deepam lamp," it added.

Recalling sayings of Saint Thirumoolar, the Tamil Shaivite mystic and poet, the bench said, "the light is the personification of Lord Shiva".  It also observed that when there is a custom of lighting a lamp at an elevated place and a place is available within the limits of the Devasthanam property, there was no plausible reason for the Devasthanam to refuse to comply with the wishes of its devotees, when such a request was not against morality or public policy.

Being at a vantage point, the stone Pillar called Deepathoon, which is on a different rock summit and lower than the peak on which the dargah is located, is the ideal place to light Deepam, it added.

Of course, any activity on the hill, which is a protected site under the Statute, should be within the permissible limit as indicated earlier by the court, the bench added.

Noting that religious practices always carry a purpose, the bench said the Devasthanam, through its team, has to light the lamp in the Deepathoon on the occasion of the Karthigai Deepam festival falling in the Tamil month, Karthigai (November-December).

No public shall be allowed to accompany the Devasthanam team, and the number of team members is to be decided in consultation with the ASI and police. The District Collector shall coordinate and supervise the event, the court ruled.  PTI VGN PYK PYK