Tirupparankundram temple management can light lamp at Deepathoon: High Court

Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the management of the Subramaniya Swamy  Temple, Tirupparankundram, to light the Karthigai Deepam at the Deepathoon, besides at the usual places.

He was hearing petitions for a direction to the temple management to light the Karthigai Deepam on the Deepathoon (Stone lamp-pillar) located at one of the peaks of the Tirupparankundram hill.

Impleading petitions were filed, some supporting the claim that the festival lamp must be lit at the Deepathoon and others contending that the lamp should be lit only near the Uchi Pillaiyar Temple. A petition was also filed against the lighting of the lamp at the hilltop. Justice Swaminathan observed that the Deepathoon is not at the hilltop. There are two peaks. The mosque is at the highest peak. The Deepathoon is at the lower peak. In the Original Suit of 1920, the trial judge recognised that while the mosque is at the highest peak, Hindu God Subramaniya is at the base of the lower peak. Deepathoon is not an occupied portion of Muslims. The Privy Council had held that the unoccupied portion of the hill belonged to the Hindus, he said.

The Deepathoon is located at a lower peak at a distance of not less than 50 metres from the mosque. The Deepathoon, which is in the unoccupied portion, belongs exclusively to the temple, the judge held.

“The Dargah is at an elevated altitude, compared with the Nellithope  area. The judgments speak of the flight of steps from Nellithope, which means that the boundary of Nellithope stops with the flight of steps. As one ascends the steps, there is a divergence. The place is more like a fork. The steps lead to the Dargah on one side. The Deepathoon is on the other side. One has to climb the rocks to reach the Deepathoon,” he added.

The judge said that in the Madras High Court, there is a practice of closing the four outer gates for 24 hours once a year. Members of the public are informed that no one will be allowed to enter. This is to prevent easement claims by members of the public. “The case on hand is something similar. The 1923 judgment has clarified who owns what. But that did not deter the mosque trustees from disturbing the status quo,” he said.

“It is therefore necessary that the temple management remains vigilant to foil any attempt to encroach on its property. This can be done only by regular and periodic assertion of title. It is not a matter of religious tradition alone. At least for the sake of protecting its property, the temple management is obliged to light the festival lamp at the Deepathoon.”

Deepathoon is located 50 metres from the dargah. It does not fall within the prohibited distance from the flight of steps or the Nellithope area. Apart from these three, no other place belongs to the Muslims, Justice Swaminathan held.

The Devasthanam has the duty to maintain traditions. If traditions have been abandoned, the temple management has to restore them so long as constitutional morality is not breached, he added.

According to Justice Swaminathan, lighting a lamp is a sacred act. “It cannot offend anybody’s sensibilities. By lighting the lamp at Deepathoon, the rights of the Dargha or the Muslims will not in any way be affected. The Dargah management has not demonstrated as to how they will be affected if the lamp is lit at the Deepathoon. It is not their case that Deepathoon is within the Dargha campus. On the other hand, if the lamp is not lit at Deepathoon, there is always a possibility that the rights of the temple may be jeopardised,” he wrote.

Karthigai is also a festival of light. Lamps are lit all over the house and not in the pooja room alone. The Karthigai Deepam should be lit from this year onwards at Deepathoon also. It is the duty of the jurisdictional police to ensure that the direction of the court is complied with. The Commissioner of Police, Madurai City, should see to it that no one comes in the way of enforcement of the order, the judge said.