Tamil Nadu Govt Moves SC Challenging Madras HC's Order Allowing Lighting of Lamp on Thirupparankundram Hill

New Delhi: The  newly-formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)- led government in Tamil Nadu has moved Supreme Court seeking an interim stay on the Madras high court’s order allowing the lighting of a ceremonial lamp on Thirupparankundram hill during the Karthigai Deepam festival, reported New Indian Express.

The state government’s petition challenges a January 6 order of the Madurai bench of the high court. The Madurian bench had upheld the December 1, 2025 order of a single-judge who had given directions for lighting the ceremonial lamp on the festival day.

Tamil Nadu government counsel B. Karunakaran said that the hill is a centrally protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

Karunakaran said that fragile rock-cut caves in the hill could be damaged by the lamp lighting. He also submitted that it could further damage inscriptions and natural terrain, apart from creating crowd management and law and order issues.

The state government’s petition says that the high court did not adequately consider the heritage, environmental and security concerns. The Tamil Nadu government is also seeking an interim stay on the high court’s direction pending the appeal’s disposal, said the New Indian Express report.

Every Karthigai Deepam, Tamil Hindus light lamps on the hillock behind the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swami Temple at Thirupparankundram in Madurai district. This has been the practice observed for generations.

But last year, right-wing groups including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu Munnani and BJP functionaries demanded that the lamp be lit not at the customary spot near the Uchi Pillaiyar Temple but on a pillar located beside the Hazarath Sultan Sikandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah on the same hill.

The presence of the Sikandar Dargah at Thirupparankundram has long been a focal point for right-wing attempts to manufacture religious friction. Litigation over the temple dates to the early 19th century.

In December last year, the then Tamil Nadu government led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had told the Madurai bench of the high court that the stone pillar on Thirupparankundram hill was established by the Jain community and did not belong to the Hindus.

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