The Crossbill News Desk
The dispute over the lighting of the ceremonial lamp on Thirupparankundram hill during the Karthigai Deepam festival has now reached the Supreme Court, with the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government in Tamil Nadu seeking an interim stay on a Madras high court order that permitted the practice to continue.
According to The New Indian Express, the state government has challenged the January 6 judgment of the Madurai bench, which had affirmed an earlier single-judge order passed on December 1, 2025, directing that the ceremonial lamp be lit on the festival day.
Appearing for the state, counsel B. Karunakaran argued that Thirupparankundram hill is a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. He contended that the lighting of the lamp could damage the fragile rock-cut caves, inscriptions and the natural terrain of the hill, besides creating crowd management and law and order concerns.
In its plea before the apex court, the Tamil Nadu government has maintained that the high court failed to sufficiently address the heritage, environmental and security implications associated with the practice. It has also sought an interim stay on the implementation of the high court's directions until the appeal is finally decided, the report said.
The tradition of lighting lamps on the hillock behind the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swami Temple during Karthigai Deepam has been observed by Tamil Hindus for generations.
However, the issue acquired a political and communal dimension last year when right-wing organisations, including the RSS, Hindu Munnani and BJP functionaries, demanded that the lamp be lit on a stone pillar near the Hazarath Sultan Sikandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah instead of the customary site near the Uchi Pillaiyar Temple.
The presence of the Sikandar Dargah on Thirupparankundram hill has long been at the centre of attempts by right-wing groups to stoke religious tensions, with legal disputes concerning the site dating back to the early nineteenth century. During proceedings before the high court last December, the then DMK government had argued that the disputed stone pillar belonged to the Jain community and was not a Hindu religious structure.
The Supreme Court's eventual decision is now expected to have significant implications for the contentious issue surrounding religious practices and heritage conservation at the historic hill shrine.
According to The New Indian Express, the state government has challenged the January 6 judgment of the Madurai bench, which had affirmed an earlier single-judge order passed on December 1, 2025, directing that the ceremonial lamp be lit on the festival day.
Appearing for the state, counsel B. Karunakaran argued that Thirupparankundram hill is a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. He contended that the lighting of the lamp could damage the fragile rock-cut caves, inscriptions and the natural terrain of the hill, besides creating crowd management and law and order concerns.
In its plea before the apex court, the Tamil Nadu government has maintained that the high court failed to sufficiently address the heritage, environmental and security implications associated with the practice. It has also sought an interim stay on the implementation of the high court's directions until the appeal is finally decided, the report said.
The tradition of lighting lamps on the hillock behind the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swami Temple during Karthigai Deepam has been observed by Tamil Hindus for generations.
However, the issue acquired a political and communal dimension last year when right-wing organisations, including the RSS, Hindu Munnani and BJP functionaries, demanded that the lamp be lit on a stone pillar near the Hazarath Sultan Sikandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah instead of the customary site near the Uchi Pillaiyar Temple.
The presence of the Sikandar Dargah on Thirupparankundram hill has long been at the centre of attempts by right-wing groups to stoke religious tensions, with legal disputes concerning the site dating back to the early nineteenth century. During proceedings before the high court last December, the then DMK government had argued that the disputed stone pillar belonged to the Jain community and was not a Hindu religious structure.
The Supreme Court's eventual decision is now expected to have significant implications for the contentious issue surrounding religious practices and heritage conservation at the historic hill shrine.
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