Chennai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday (January 6) upheld a single judge's ruling allowing the lighting of a lamp on the ‘Deepathoon’ atop the Thiruparankundram Hills in Tamil Nadu.
A Division Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan delivered the judgment. The bench made it clear that the spot on which the stone pillar (Deepathoon) is located belongs to the Lord Subramania Swamy Temple.
The single judge on December 1 last year had directed the temple authorities to permit the lighting of the ceremonial lamp on the hilltop lamp pillar during the annual Karthigai festival. Several petitions were filed against the December 1 order. The dispute originated from a petition seeking permission to light the Karthigai lamp on the hilltop at Thiruparankundram near Madurai.
Why The State Government Opposed The Earlier Order:
Opposing the plea, the state government and the temple administration argued that there was no conclusive proof to establish the existence of a lamp pillar on the hilltop. They also raised concerns that allowing the lamp to be lit could lead to law and order problems, citing sensitivities related to the hill, which also houses a dargah.
Here's What The Division Bench Said:
The Division Bench made strong observations on the state government's arguments. The court held that the contention that lighting the lamp would disturb law and order was untenable and could not be accepted. It also rejected the claim that the lamp pillar on the hill belonged to the dargah.
"Ridiculous and hard to believe the fear of a mighty state that by allowing representatives of devasthanam to light a lamp at the stone pillar on a particular day in a year will cause disturbance to public peace," the bench observed, as reported by Live Law.
Coming down heavily on the DMK government, the bench added, "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 petitioner, Rama Ravikumar, welcomed the judgment and described it as a victory for the devotees of Lord Murugan.
BJP's Reaction:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pradeep Bhandari hailed the Madra HC's deciiosn. Slamming the ruling MK Staling government in the state, Bhandari said that the verdict exposed the DMK government’s consistent pattern of targeting Hindu customs while claiming to uphold secularism.
The order was reserved in the case on December 18. On December 1 last year, Justice GR Swaminathan allowed the petition seeking directions to light the ceremonial lamp and ordered the lighting of the lamp atop the Thiruparankundram Hills.
However, the order was not implemented by the DMK-led government in the state, citing law and order concerns.
