Madras HC raps TN govt; allows deepam on Thirupparankundram hill amid impeachment move

Madurai (Tamil Nadu): The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench on Tuesday upheld a single judge’s order allowing the lighting of a lamp at the Deepathoon on the Thirupparankundram hill here, and came down sharply on the DMK government for claiming the ritual could disturb public peace.

A Division Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan held that the spot where the stone pillar (Deepathoon) stands belongs to the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple.

It said the State failed to produce “formidable evidence” to show that Saivite Agama Sastra prohibits lighting a lamp at a place that is not directly above the deity in the sanctum sanctorum.

Calling the State’s apprehension “ridiculous”, the bench said it was hard to believe that allowing Devasthanam representatives to light the lamp near the top of the hill, on one day in a year, would lead to a law-and-order problem.

“Of course, it may happen only if such a disturbance is sponsored by the State itself,” the court observed, adding that it hoped no government would “stoop to that level” to serve a political agenda.

The ruling comes amid a wider political row around the issue. On December 9, several opposition MPs led by the DMK submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, whose earlier orders in the matter triggered the controversy.

The notice, signed by over 100 parliamentarians, alleged his conduct raised questions of impartiality and secular functioning, and accused him of “undue favouritism” towards a senior advocate and advocates from a particular community.

Justice Swaminathan, in his December 1 order, held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the Deepathoon, in addition to the customary lighting near the Uchi Pillaiyar Mandapam, and said it would not encroach on the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community.

When the order was not implemented, he passed another order on December 3 permitting devotees to light the lamp and directed the CISF to ensure their protection, prompting the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government to move the Supreme Court.

Fifty-six former judges later issued a statement denouncing the impeachment move, calling it a “brazen attempt to browbeat judges”. The signatories said impeachment is a rare constitutional measure meant to protect judicial integrity, and warned against using it as an instrument of pressure or retaliation.

On Tuesday, the Division Bench directed that the Devasthanam must light the lamp at the Deepathoon during the Karthigai Deepam festival, which falls in the Tamil month of Karthigai (November-December). It said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should impose conditions needed to preserve the monuments on the hill, in addition to restrictions under the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Acts and Rules.

The court also ordered that no public shall be allowed to accompany the Devasthanam team, and the number of team members will be fixed in consultation with the ASI and the police. The District Collector will coordinate and supervise the event.

The Tamil Nadu government indicated it would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. Minister for Natural Resources S Regupathy criticised the judgment, questioned why a “new practice” should be introduced, and claimed there was no proof that deepam was earlier lit at the Deepathoon.

Petitioner Rama Ravikumar welcomed Tuesday’s order and called it a victory for devotees of Lord Muruga. The BJP hailed the verdict and attacked the DMK government over its stand.