Deepam row | Madras High Court allows lighting of lamp at disputed place; government says no and moves Supreme Court

Madurai: In a day of dramatic developments, Justice G R Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday revoked the prohibitory orders imposed in Thiruparankundram and allowed lighting of a lamp on the occasion of Karthigai Deepam atop the hill, which is close to a dargah.

Despite the order, the Tamil Nadu government stood firm in its decision not to allow lighting of the lamp at the Deepathoon and stopped activists of Hindu outfits from climbing the hill. “We are challenging the order,” the local police announced and asked activists to leave the village or get arrested.

The state government also moved the Supreme Court against Thursday’s order of justice Swaminathan saying it could lead to law and order problems. 

Justice Swaminathan’s order came hours after a division bench dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal challenging justice Swaminathan’s Wednesday order asking CISF personnel guarding the high court premises to accompany the petitioner, Rama Ravikumar, with 10 people to the hills to help light the lamp.

Justice Swaminathan’s verdict changed the century-old practice of lighting the lamp at the Deepa Mandapam near Uchipillaiyar temple.

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department which manages the Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple refused to follow the High Court and lit the light at the Uchipillaiyar Temple.

“Today (04.12.2025) is Sarvalaya Deepam Day. Therefore, Karthigai Deepam can be lit today also. This order should be read along with the earlier orders passed by this court. Except deputing the CISF Personnel and the change regarding the date, in all other respects, the directions issued yesterday hold good,” justice Swaminathan said in his order.

Hundreds of BJP cadres led by state unit chief Nainar Nagenthiran gathered in Thiruparankundram and shouted slogans against the DMK government. Nagenthiran was arrested for not complying with police orders, while AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami lambasted the DMK dispensation for not implementing the court order.

The division bench, comprising Justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan, held that the government had approached their bench not to contest legal findings, but “as a pre-emptive step” to avoid consequences of non-compliance with the single judge’s directive.

Law Minister S Regupathy said the government was taking all necessary steps to ensure maintenance of law and order in the state. He said a judgement by a division bench in 2014 had made it clear that the Karthigai Deepam should be lit at the Uchipillaiyar Temple and that the state will only go by the order of a division bench, rather than a single bench.

Thiruparankundram hill has been a haven of religious coexistence and communal harmony for centuries, hosting the Subramaniya Swamy temple, Kasi Viswanathan temple, and Sikkander Badusha dargah. However, in February this year, Hindu organisations launched a protest after Lok Sabha MP Nawaz Kani allegedly consumed meat at the hills – since then, the temple has been at the center of a row though the residents of the village continue to live in harmony.