Faith, property rights, public order: Why Vijay govt is taking Karthigai Deepam row to Supreme Court

5 min readChennaiJun 24, 2026 06:00 AM IST

The Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court judgment that allowed the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at a stone pillar known as the Deepathoon atop Thirupparankundram Hill, near the Sikandar Badusha Dargah.

The appeal marks the latest chapter in a dispute that has moved from a local religious controversy into a prolonged legal battle involving questions of faith, property rights, public order and the role of courts in regulating religious practices on one of Tamil Nadu’s most symbolically charged hills.

According to court records, the state filed its petition before the Supreme Court on June 11 through its counsel, B Karunakaran, challenging a January 6 judgment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. That judgment had upheld an earlier order passed on December 1, 2025, by Justice G R Swaminathan directing the Subramaniya Swamy Temple administration to light the ceremonial lamp at the Deepathoon during the annual Karthigai Deepam festival.

The dispute arose from a petition filed by Rama Ravikumar and others seeking permission to light the sacred lamp at the stone pillar situated near the summit of the hill.

Previous govt’s opposition

The previous DMK government had opposed the request, arguing that the site’s proximity to the dargah could trigger communal tensions and disturb public order. The state maintained that allowing the ritual at the hilltop location risked reopening a sensitive dispute in an area where a Hindu temple and a Muslim shrine have coexisted for generations.

Justice Swaminathan rejected those concerns, observing, “It is ridiculous and hard to believe the fear of the mighty state that by allowing representatives of the Devasthanam to light the lamp at the stone pillar near the top of the hill located within its territory of Devasthanam land, on a particular day in a year, will cause disturbance to public peace.”

“Of course, it may happen only if such a disturbance is sponsored by the state itself,” he added, urging the government not to “stoop” to such a level. The judge further held that permitting a limited number of temple representatives to light the lamp and perform worship was not an unmanageable administrative task and dismissed the state’s law-and-order concerns as unfounded.

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When the matter reached a Division Bench, it largely endorsed that reasoning. In its January 6 judgment, the Bench held that apprehensions about communal disturbances amounted to an “imaginary ghost” created for administrative convenience. The court observed that the Deepathoon stood on land belonging to the Subramaniya Swamy Temple and stated that the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board had “no locus” in the dispute.

“The Waqf Board, as on date, has no locus in this matter,” the High Court said.

The Bench was also critical of arguments advanced on behalf of the Waqf Board during the appeal proceedings. Referring to claims that the lamp pillar itself belonged to the dargah, the judges described the submission as a “mischievous” plea raised for the first time during the intra-court appeals.

The judgment also faulted the state administration for failing to use the controversy as an opportunity to encourage dialogue between the communities.

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“In our considered view, the state, through the district administration, should have taken this as an opportunity to bridge the difference between these two communities,” the Bench observed, adding that authorities could have narrowed the gap through “peaceful and meaningful negotiation.”

Escalating controversy

The High Court’s intervention came after months of escalating litigation and political mobilisation around the hill. Earlier proceedings had seen the state repeatedly argue that any attempt to light the lamp at the Deepathoon could lead to disturbances because of the pillar’s proximity to the dargah. The courts, however, consistently rejected those fears.

The controversy centres on a stone pillar near the summit of the hill and forms part of a larger dispute involving access, ownership and competing interpretations of historical practice. Earlier proceedings before the High Court had examined whether the pillar lay within temple land, whether access to it required passage through dargah property, and whether lighting the lamp there represented a continuation of an older tradition or the creation of a new one.

The Supreme Court challenge now places those issues before the country’s highest court. The petition filed by the Vijay government is expected to test not only the High Court’s conclusions on public order and religious practice, but also its observations on the conduct of the state administration and the standing of the Waqf Board in the dispute.

Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.

Expertise

Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.

Key Coverage Areas:

State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.

Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties.

Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.

Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail.

His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More

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