Police have registered criminal cases against 42 individuals, including BJP functionaries and local residents, in connection with protests condemning the permission granted for flag-hoisting related to the Sandhanakoodu festival at the Sikandar Dargah, while Hindu devotees were allegedly denied permission to light the Karthigai Deepam at the Deepathoon on the same hill despite a court order permitting the ritual.
According to police records, 35 people, including BJP district leaders Marisakkaravarthi, Sivalingam, and Rajasimman, have been booked by the Thirunagar Police Station for staging a road-block protest on the Thirunagar–Thirupparankundram Road. The protest was held to demand the release of residents and women who had earlier been arrested during demonstrations on the hill. Traffic on the arterial road was disrupted for over half an hour due to the sit-in.
The Thirupparankundram Police Station has registered cases against 17 residents of Palani Andavar Koil Street, including women, in connection with protests on the hill itself. Police allege that these individuals argued with officers over the permission granted for the Dargah flag-hoisting, violated police instructions, and attempted to carry traditional clay lamps up the hill to light the Deepam.
Police further stated that some protesters placed the clay lamps in front of the Palani Andavar Temple and performed worship there, which authorities have described as part of an unauthorised protest.
The protests trace back to 21 December 2025, when residents alleged that police failed to implement a court order allowing the lighting of the Deepam at the Deepathoon, while simultaneously granting permissions for Sandhanakoodu-related activities at the Dargah. Following demonstrations by local residents, many of them women, police arrested several participants and confined them in a private marriage hall in Thirunagar.
In response, more than 200 people staged a road-block protest demanding their release. Those detained were released later that night, around 11 p.m. However, police subsequently registered FIRs against those who took part in both the hill protest and the road blockade.
The registration of cases has drawn criticism from various quarters, with those booked stating that their agitation was aimed at asserting what they describe as their constitutional right to worship. Protesters have alleged selective enforcement of law, claiming that police action favoured one religious group while proceeding against another.
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