Supreme Court Upholds Madras HC Order in TN Lamp-Lighting Row

New Delhi: The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Madras High Court order rejecting the plea against Hindu devotees not being allowed to light a lamp on the Thiruparankundram hill.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha, Aravind Kumar and Shree Chandrashekhar, while upholding the decision of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, reduced the cost imposed on the petitioner from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5,000.

“While we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order passed by the High Court, we are of the opinion that the costs fixed at Rs 50,000 are excessive and considering the facts and circumstances of the case, they can be reduced to Rs 5,000. It is accordingly ordered,” the court said in its judgment dated June 2.

“The rest of the impugned decision remains unchanged. With this statement, the Special Leave Petition is dismissed.”

The Supreme Court on April 9 had dismissed a plea seeking directions to the Central government and the Archaeological Survey of India to take action against the Tamil Nadu authorities for allegedly not allowing Hindu devotees to light a lamp on the hill while allowing Ramzan-related activities.

The petition was filed as a public interest litigation by KK Ramesh, who heads the board of trustees of the Hindu Dharma Parishad in Madurai. The petitioner had alleged that the district administration and police officials were preventing devotees from lighting the Karthigai Deepam atop the Thiruparankundram hill despite an earlier high court order.