Madras High Court Summons Tamil Nadu Top Officials Over Madurai Temple Lamp Controversy
- Nilo Aslam
- Dec 10
- 2 min read
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has summoned Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) to appear via video conference on December 17 in connection with the Thirupparankundram Subramaniaswamy temple lamp lighting row.
The case revolves around the lighting of a festival lamp on one of the two ancient pillars, known as ‘deepathon’, atop Thirupparankundram hill in Madurai. The court is hearing a contempt petition filed by Rama Ravikumar, alleging non-compliance with earlier court orders by district officials.
Key Highlights:
The Union Home Secretary has been added as a party to the proceedings.
The petitioner claims authorities are delaying the case instead of complying with the court’s instructions.
Advocate Karthikeyan N said a statutory notice has been issued to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Madurai, regarding potential contempt proceedings.
The state, represented by Additional Advocate General Veera Kathiravan, stated that a special leave petition challenging the single judge order on lamp lighting is pending before the Supreme Court.
Background:
On December 1, Justice GR Swaminathan had ordered the temple authorities to light the lamp during the Karthigai Deepam festival on December 3. When the event was not carried out, the court allowed the petitioner and ten others to light the lamp under CISF protection. On December 4, the court admitted the contempt plea and quashed prohibitory orders imposed by the district administration.
Political Reactions:In a related development, over 120 opposition MPs, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, submitted a proposal to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking the impeachment of Justice GR Swaminathan over his verdicts in the temple case.
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