The new Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu has moved the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court order from January that allowed the lighting of a lamp at a stone pillar on Thiruparankundram hill near Madurai, Live Law reported on Tuesday.
The Vijay-led government had challenged the High Court order on June 11.
On December 1, High Court judge GR Swaminathan ruled that the stone pillar on Thiruparankundram hill near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, was a deepathoon, or a structure designed to hold lamps, and that the temple should restore the tradition of lighting the lamp at the site. This came after some temple devotees had sought permission to light a lamp at the stone pillar.
Swaminathan had also held that the practice would not infringe upon the religious rights of the nearby Muslim shrine.
The hillock has the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy temple and the Sikkandar Badhusha dargah.
The previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, the temple authorities and the dargah management, among others, had challenged the order of the single judge, raising concerns about law and order, ownership of the site and the nature of the ritual that had been allowed.
On January 6, another bench of the High Court upheld Swaminathan’s order, observing that the stone pillar is located on the land that belongs to the Subramania Swamy temple.
However, it said that the lamp should be lit only by members of the temple management and that the public would not be allowed to accompany them.
This direction was challenged in the High Court by a Hindu association named the Hindu Dharma Parishad. In April, the court dismissed the challenge and criticised the association for filing a plea allegedly for political benefits and imposed a cost of Rs 50,000.
The Hindu Dharma Parishad then moved the Supreme Court, which also dismissed its petition earlier this month.
The top court, however, reduced the cost to Rs 5,000, saying that a penalty of Rs 50,000 was “on the excessive side”.
Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!