Court Upholds Festival Tradition on Thirupparankundram Hill

The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench upheld an order allowing the lighting of a lamp on the Deepathoon at Thirupparankundram, a site belonging to Sri Subramania Swamy Temple. The ruling mandates strict conditions to preserve the monument, while Tamil Nadu's Minister indicated a possible Supreme Court appeal.

The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench affirmed a previous ruling permitting the lighting of a lamp on the Deepathoon at Thirupparankundram Hill, within the premises of the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple. This decision, delivered by a Division Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan, clarifies that the site is temple property.

Despite the ruling, Tamil Nadu Minister for Natural Resources, S Regupathy, critiqued the decision, suggesting the state government might appeal to the Supreme Court. The issue, he argued, was the lack of evidence for lighting a lamp on the Deepathoon, challenging the introduction of such a tradition.

The court's order specifies that the Devasthanam must light the lamp during the Karthigaideepam festival, with conditions to protect the site per archaeological standards. Only designated Devasthanam team members, decided in coordination with ASI and police, will participate, supervised by the District Collector. Supporters, including petitioner Rama Ravikumar and the BJP, praised the ruling.

(With inputs from agencies.)