Supreme Court Issues Notice On Hindu Dharma Parishad's Plea For ASI Takeover Of Thiruparankundram Temple And 24-Hour Hilltop Lamp Lighting

The Supreme Court, today, issued notice in a petition seeking to take over the entire Thirupparankundram Temple by the Archaeological Survey of India and to lit a lamp on the top of the Deepathoon (ancient stone lamp post) located on the top of Thiruparankundram Hill Pillar permanently for 24 hours daily.

The Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M Pancholi issued notice in the matter.

Justice Kumar, "Matter is still pending before the High Court?"

Counsel for the Respondent answered, "Matter is disposed of...Parties are contemplating filing an SLP."

Justice Kumar, "Then we will take up all these together."

Previously, the Madras High Court confirmed the order permitting the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam on a stone pillar located on the lower peak of the Thiruparankundram hillock.

By upholding the single judge’s previous order, the court has cleared the way for the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony to proceed at that specific location.

A petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India was filed before the Supreme Court seeking the issue of writ of mandamus or any other appropriate direction to the ASI.

The Plea filed by AOR Narender Kumar Verma stated, "that according to all leading newspapers and news in mamy T.V. channals and from my personal knowledge regarding warning boards were installed today in front of the archaeological monuments, including the Jain temples on the Thiruparankundram hill. The warning messages are written in Tamil, Hindi and English. This monument has been declared of national importance under the Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. Whoever destroys, removes, defaces, alters, defaces, endangers or misuses this monument shall be liable to the punishment prescribed by the Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2010. Some Muslim organisations are working with a foreign power to create riots between Hindus and Muslims. They are killing sheep and animals at the Dargah on the Thiruparankundram hill, thereby violating the sanctity of Thiruparankundram and thereby disturbing public peace."

It was further submitted that there is a complaint that a temple is being encroached on the Kundrathu hill. It was added that there are more than 11 temples on the hill belonging to the Thiruparankundram temple, and all of them are holy temples. Among them, a wall has been erected around the temple below the dargah, and a wire fence has been erected and occupied, it said. 

The Thenparankundram Umaiyandar Temple, a cave temple, has been excavated on the southern slope of Thirupparankundram Hill, facing south, and this cave temple can be reached by taking the dirt road leading from the Girivala path to the foot of the hill. The archaeologists have built long steps to reach the cave temple. It was originally a Jain cave temple. Historians believe that this cave temple was excavated during the 8th-9th century AD, when Jainism flourished in Madurai, as the Petition submitted.

It was added, "The petitioner states that the police have registered a case against Muslim organizations who violated the ban on goat sacrifice on the Thiruparankundram hill the day before yesterday, and against Hindu fronts who marched without permission. The police have banned the slaughter of goats and roosters on the hill. The day before yesterday, some Muslims, carrying a lamb, went in procession from the mosque to the hill to slaughter a goat. The police stopped them on the way to the hill on the Periya Rath Road and sent them back. The London court itself has ruled that the Thiruparankundram hill is the 'Murugan Hill'. The Thiruparankundram police have registered a case against the organizations including the United Jamaat, STBI, and Indian Union Muslim League, which violated the ban, on charges of disturbing public peace, taking a procession in a public place without permission, and preventing government employees from doing their work."

The plea mentioned that the day before yesterday, the Hindu Front in Thiruparankundram held a consultation meeting in a private hall regarding the protection of the Thiruparankundram hill and opposing the slaughter of goats on the hill led by the party's state president, Kadeshwara Subramaniam. More than 200 people marched from the hall to the Subramania Swamy temple. The police also registered a case against the Hindu Front for taking a procession without permission, gathering in a public place, and disturbing public peace, it said.

"The petitioner states that there is evidence that such a conspiracy to build tombs is a strategy to occupy temples since the Mughal era. For example, it is said that the Ettukudi Murugan Temple was converted into the Ervadi Dargah. Similarly, a Muslim body is buried inside the Sri RangapattinamRanganathar Temple in Karnataka. However, according to Islam, building tombs and worshipping Dargahs is prohibited. It is against the religion of Islam. In such a case, this is an act that incites religious unrest, " the Petitioner submitted.

The petitioner further stated, "The petitioner states that the Tamil Nadu ruling party is supporting the act of inciting religious riots in Tamil Nadu. The Hindu Religious and Endowments Department has not given due importance to Murugan's first base in Thiruparankundram. The Tamil Nadu government should immediately put an end to this conspiracy...The petitioner states that There has been a controversy over Navaskani, an MP from the Indian Union Muslim League, who went there and ate biryani. Some people who tried to take the cooked biryani to the Thiruparankundram hill were also stopped by the police."

It was prayed by the Petitioner that directions maybe issued to the ASI to i) take over and control of the entire Thirupparankundram Lord Murugan Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu by the ASI; ii) to lit a lamp on the top of the The Deepathoon (ancient stone lamp post) located on the top of Thiruparankundram Hill Dheepa Pillar permanently for 24 hours daily and iii) to Every year, on the day of Karthigai in the month of Karthigai, the entire Thiruparankundram hill be lit with lamps and Muruga devotees be allowed to worship.

Accordingly, the matter is listed for a further date.

Background

The High Court, on December 18, 2025, had reserved its verdict on a series of appeals against a single judge’s order. The Single Judge's order permitted the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam (lamp) at the Deepathoon (stone pillar) on the Thiruparankundram Hills, located near a dargah. Rama Ravikumar, who claimed to be a devout follower of Lord Muruga, sought such a direction via Writ Petition before the Madurai Bench, and then,a few other Writ Petitions were also filed for the very same relief.

On December 4, 2025, despite an order of the Madras High Court passed in a contempt of court case allowing lighting of the Karthigai Deepam atop Thiruparankundram Hill, Madurai, by the Petitioner under protective escort by the CISF, Tamil Nadu Police prevented the ritual, triggering protests. A Bench of Justice G. R. Swaminathan, in a contempt petition, passed the directions allowing the petitioners to light the deepam under CISF protection after the temple management and the state had failed to comply with its previous order.

On December 1, 2025, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court had heard writ petitions filed by devotees seeking restoration of the tradition of lighting the Karthigai Deepam at the ancient “Deepathoon”, a lamp-pillar on Thiruparankundram Hill historically used for ritual lighting. The temple authorities had decided, for this year, to limit the ceremony to the lower-hill mandapam near Uchipillaiyar shrine, citing proximity to the dargah atop the hill.

Justice Swaminathan, while rejecting their objections, referencing a 1923 civil decree affirming the temple’s title over the hill, upheld later by the Privy Council, held that the Deepathoon stood in unoccupied temple property and outside the dargah precinct. The Court quashed the Executive Officer’s decision to confine lighting to the mandapam and directed that the Deepam be lit at Deepathoon this year, ordering police protection to ensure enforcement.

Thiruparankundram Hill houses the centuries-old Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple at its foot and the Sikandar Badusha Dargah atop, a status that has long generated religious and communal sensitivities. Over decades, the traditional hill-top lamp lighting during the Tamil month of Karthigai was progressively curtailed, with lighting restricted to lower-hill structures near the mandapam.

The Single Bench had also reprimanded the Government Officials while considering the contempt proceedings alleging non-compliance with the earlier orders related to the Karthigai Thiruparankundram Deepam issue. The High Court further stated that law and order cannot be a ground for flouting a court's order.

Cause Title: Hindu Dharma Parishad v. The Union of India and Ors. [W.P. (C) 1280/2025]