The Madras High Court warned Madurai district officials it may initiate contempt proceedings for failing to follow court orders on Karthigai Deepam lighting at Thiruparankundram hill. “Unforgivable! Unless They Apologize in Writing,” said Justice GR Swaminathan.
The Madras High Court issued a stern warning to district officials in Madurai, indicating it may initiate contempt of court proceedings against them due to their failure to comply with previous court orders regarding the lighting of Karthigai Deepam (a lamp for the Hindu festival of lights) at a Deepathoon on the sacred Thiruparankundram hillock.
Justice GR Swaminathan observed that, despite the contempt case being scheduled multiple times, the Madurai Collector and Deputy Commissioner of Police had not submitted their written responses.
Instead, a government attorney requested additional time, citing the recent hospitalization of the Collector’s lawyer.
The Court was not swayed by this request.
Justice Swaminathan stated,
“Are they filing any written response today? They are not filing today. Then I am posting the matter on Monday for framing of charges. Today, I had given them an opportunity to respond. They don’t want to respond. The matter was taken in first week of December, they had full four weeks to give their stand in writing. They have not done so. I gave an opportunity to show cause, they have not shown cause. I am calling the case on Monday for framing charges,”
The judge expressed his reluctance to be lenient, noting that the district authorities had shown no signs of remorse for their intentional defiance of court orders.
The judge remarked,
“There are three kinds of contempt, not one. Most egregious contempt was by Mr. Inigo (Deputy Commissioner of Police). Disobedience of primary order; two, passing (prohibitory order) under BNSS; three, even after knowing that prohibitory order was quashed by this court, the DC had the audacity to resist the implementation of the order. They (district authorities) don’t seem to have the slightest of remorse; you expect court to take this lying down? Even today there is no affidavit of apology or remote (expression) of remorse,”
Justice Swaminathan also pointed out that the district authorities had appealed against his directives in the contempt case, which were pending before a Division Bench.
He clarified that he would respect the outcome of those appeals but would not dismiss the current situation lightly.
The judge remarked,
“I have to eventually abide by what the Hon’ble Division Bench says …But I won’t forgive on two counts One, this collector passing a prohibitory order to frustrate court orders. And two, after quashing the prohibitory orders, they had the audacity, the gall to resist. These two, unforgivable! Unless they apologize in writing,”
The judge further questioned the management of the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy temple about their inaction against the Sikkandar Badhusha Dargah for attaching a flag to mark the dargah’s “Santhanakoodu” festival near the Kallathi tree, which the judge identified as temple property.
The judge asked,
“That is temple property. How did you permit tying of flag by dargah?”
Upon learning that no permission had been granted for the flag, the Court inquired what actions the temple management intended to take. The temple’s executive officer stated that a criminal trespass complaint would be filed, and the Court instructed the police to act on it once filed.
This case involves a sacred hillock in Madurai that features both the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy temple and the Sikkandar Badhusha Dargah.
Earlier, In December 2025, Justice Swaminathan ruled that a stone pillar at the lower of two peaks on the hillock is a Deepathoon (a structure for lighting lamps) on temple property.
The judge mandated that the Hindu temple resume the tradition of lighting the Karthigai Deepam at this pillar, in addition to the existing lamp at the Ucchi Pillayar temple, asserting that this would not infringe on the rights of the nearby dargah.
The state authorities failed to comply with these directives and instead contested the single judge’s order before a Division Bench. The Karthigai Deepam festival of 2025 was observed without the lamp being lit. On January 6 of this year, the Division Bench affirmed the single judge’s ruling.
Meanwhile, the present contempt case was initiated by Hindu devotees due to the state authorities’ noncompliance with the single judge’s orders.
The state’s counsel requested an extension until February 2 to allow the district authorities to provide their affidavits explaining their position. After deliberation, the Court postponed the case until February 2.
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