The Supreme Court on Friday, 23 January 2026, issued notice on a plea filed by a Madurai-based Hindu rights organisation seeking directions to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take over the administration of the Thirupparankundram Subramania Swamy Temple, which has been at the centre of a dispute over the lighting of a traditional lamp atop an ancient stone pillar known as a deepathoon.
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi issued notices to the Union of India, the Tamil Nadu government, the ASI, and other concerned parties on the plea filed by the Hindu Dharma Parishad.
During the hearing, the court was informed that the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had already disposed of the matter on 6 January 2026. Counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the parties were contemplating filing a Special Leave Petition, noting that the High Court’s division bench had permitted the lighting of the lamp. The counsel requested the Supreme Court to issue notice in the matter, following which the bench proceeded to do so after hearing brief submissions.
The plea seeks a direction for the ASI to assume control of the Thirupparankundram Lord Murugan Subramania Temple in Madurai. It also seeks permission for a lamp to be permanently lit for 24 hours daily atop the deepathoon located on Thirupparankundram Hill. Additionally, the petition calls for the entire hill to be illuminated with lamps every year on the day of Karthigai in the Tamil month of Karthigai, and for Muruga devotees to be allowed to worship without restriction.
On 6 January 2026, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court upheld an earlier order directing that the traditional Karthigai Deepam be lit on the hilltop, dismissing an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu government and the temple administration. The state government had subsequently announced its intention to approach the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.
The High Court’s judgment was delivered by a division bench comprising Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan, which reaffirmed the order passed by single judge Justice GR Swaminathan. The bench held that the stone pillar located near the Sikkandar Dargah on the hill was a deepathoon, an ancient structure historically meant for lighting ceremonial lamps.
Justice Swaminathan, in his earlier order, had directed temple authorities to permit the lighting of the ceremonial lamp on the hilltop deepathoon during the annual Karthigai Deepam festival, acting on a petition filed by a Hindu outfit activist. The petitioner had argued that the practice was a long-standing religious tradition associated with the temple and had historical backing.
The Tamil Nadu government, opposing the writ petition through the temple administration, had contended that there was no conclusive proof establishing the existence of a lamp pillar on the hilltop as claimed. The government had also expressed apprehension that lighting a lamp near the Sikkandar Dargah could lead to law-and-order issues, given the shared religious presence on the hill.
Rejecting these arguments, the High Court criticised the DMK government’s stance, describing as “ridiculous” the claim that lighting the lamp would disturb public peace. The division bench made it clear that the site where the stone pillar stands belongs to the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple.
With the Supreme Court now issuing notice, responses have been sought from the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government, the ASI, and other respondents on both the question of administrative control of the temple and the continuation of lamp-lighting practices at the deepathoon.
Source: ETVBharat
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