Supreme Court Rejects Stay on Madras HC Order Allowing Thiruparankundram Deepam Lighting

On 3 August, the Supreme Court of India issued notice on a petition by the Tamil Nadu government seeking an ex parte stay of a Madras High Court order that permits the lighting of the traditional Karthigai Deepam at the stone pillar (deepa thoon) on Thiruparankundram hill, a site that houses the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple and a nearby dargah.

The apex court declined the state's request for an immediate stay, asked the original writ petitioners and other respondents to file responses, and linked the matter to a pending writ petition of the Hindu Dharma Parishad that seeks an Archaeological Survey of India takeover of the hill and directions for daily lighting of the lamp. The Supreme Court also questioned why the state filed the petition only in June, months after the High Court order was issued in January.

The Madras High Court had earlier partly upheld a single‑judge order allowing the temple administration to light the Deepam at the pillar, rejecting the state's claim that the ceremony could spark communal tension and describing the concern as an “imaginary ghost.” The dispute therefore centers on the balance between religious practice and public order on a historic religious site.