Madras HC Upholds Lamp Lighting on Deepathoon, Slams State for 'Imaginary Fears'

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In a significant ruling, the Madras High Court's Madurai Division Bench has upheld a single judge's order allowing the lighting of a lamp atop the Thiruparankundram Hills in Madurai as part of the Tamil Karthigai Deepam festival. The division bench, comprising Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan, rejected the state government's objections, stating that the state had failed to establish that the lighting of the lamp was not part of Tamil tradition. The court also criticized the state for attempting to draw political mileage by pitting one community against another, rather than treating the occasion as an opportunity to foster peace and harmony. The bench observed that the state's claim that the ritual would disturb law and order was an 'imaginary ghost created by the state for its own convenience.' The court further directed that any activity, including lighting of the lamp and the number of persons permitted to attend such lighting, must be fixed after consultation among the temple administration, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), and the local police, as the hill is a protected site. The ruling comes after a marathon five-day hearing in December last year, where the bench had heard all sides, including the state, temple authorities, and devotees. The court rejected the state's argument that there was no empirical data or historical proof to establish that the stone pillar was a 'deepathoon' meant for lighting lamps, and instead held that the single judge's order was correct in permitting the lighting of the lamp. The Madras High Court's decision has been welcomed by devotees, who had argued that they were seeking to revive an old usage and that lighting the lamp on the hilltop was an essential religious practice. The ruling has also been seen as a victory for the preservation of Tamil tradition and cultural heritage.