Justice Swaminathan suggests Tamil Nadu government allow five persons to offer symbolic prayers at deepathoon

Justice Swaminathan recommends allowing five people to offer symbolic prayers at Thirupparankundram following a court order and apology.

Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) on Monday suggested that respect could be shown to the court’s earlier order allowing the Karthigai Deepam to be lit on a newly identified  deepathoon (pillar) atop the Thirupparankundram hill by permitting five persons named by the court to go to the lower peak where the pillar is and offer symbolic prayers for 15 minutes.

The judge said this was a suggestion and not a direction. The State submitted that it would get back to the court. The court posted the matter for hearing at 4.00 p.m. on March 4. Justice Swaminathan is hearing contempt petitions related to the Karthigai Deepam row.

Though the appearance of the contemnors — the Madurai  Commissioner of Police and the Deputy Commissioner of Police — was earlier dispensed with, the judge directed them to be present along with the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Inspector of Police. The trustees of Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple as well as its Executive Officer shall also be present at the court. The Madurai Collector, the other contemnor, need not be present and could be represented by his counsel.

The judge made the suggestion after Madurai Collector K.J. Praveen  Kumar, in an additional affidavit, tendered an unconditional apology. He said the prohibitory order was issued on the basis of the ground situation at Thirupparankundram and so as to maintain law and order.

Justice Swaminathan said there is a proverb, ‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating’. The fact remains that the court order allowing the lighting of the deepam was frustrated by the Collector’s prohibitory order. The judge said the police took shelter behind the prohibitory order and, in fact, they made it clear that they were only enforcing the Collector’s order while resisting the implementation of the court order. In the additional affidavit, the Collector said the one factor he had kept in mind was that the temple management would be enabled to implement the court order only if there is no law and order problem in the hillock area.

The prohibitory order, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, did not contemplate any hindrance to temple officials lighting the lamp in accordance with the court judgment of December 1, 2025, the Collector said.