Tamil Nadu Govt Challenges HC Order on Thirupparankundram Deepam Lighting

The Core Legal Battle

The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order that permitted the lighting of a ceremonial lamp (Deepam) atop Thirupparankundram hill — a site that sits at the intersection of a Hindu temple complex and a Muslim dargah.

The petition, filed on June 11 through state counsel B. Karunakaran, challenges the January 6, 2026 division bench ruling of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.

The Judicial Trail

The dispute traces back to a writ petition filed by Rama Ravikumar and others, seeking directions to light the sacred Deepam at an ancient stone pillar (Deepathoon) on Thirupparankundram hill during the annual Karthigai Deepam festival.

• December 1, 2025 — A single judge of the Madras HC allowed the petition and ordered the lamp to be lit on the festival day.
• January 6, 2026 — A division bench upheld the single judge's order, dismissing appeals by the state government, temple management, and the Hazarath Sultan Sikkandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah.

What the High Court Said

The division bench was unsparing in its criticism of the state's position. On the government's law-and-order apprehension, the court called it an "imaginary ghost" created for the sake of convenience.

It went further, warning: "It may happen only if such a disturbance is sponsored by the State itself. We pray no State should stoop to that level to achieve their political agenda."

On the ownership question, the court was categorical — the stone pillar's location falls within the territory of the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple, and the Waqf Board has no locus in the matter as of the date of the order.

The court also flagged a last-minute claim by the Waqf during arguments — that the lamp pillar belongs to the dargah — calling it a "mischievous submission" that only deepened distrust between the two communities.

The State's Position

The Tamil Nadu government, now led by C. Joseph Vijay, had originally argued that lighting the lamp at a hilltop adjacent to the dargah risked inflaming communal tensions. The Dargah and the then-DMK government were co-appellants before the High Court.

The Bigger Picture

The High Court itself had pointed to what it saw as a missed opportunity — urging the state administration to have used the dispute as a bridge-building exercise between the two communities through "peaceful and meaningful negotiation"rather than litigation.

The Supreme Court is now set to examine whether the High Court was correct in overriding the state's public order concerns in a religiously sensitive locality.