Amid a long‑running legal and religious dispute over the Dheepa Thoon (lamp pillar) atop Thiruparankundram Hill in Madurai, the Madras High Court has suggested a compromise involving a five‑person team appointed by the court to offer symbolic prayers at the contentious hilltop site. The recommendation comes as authorities and devotees remain mired in conflict over the centuries‑old Karthigai Deepam ritual and the court’s earlier orders on the matter.

The suggestion was made during proceedings before the Madurai bench while addressing the government’s failure to implement the high court’s earlier directive that permitted lighting of the Deepam lamp at the hilltop stone pillar known as Deepathoon. Justice G.R. Swaminathan noted that although the state argued the prohibitory order was intended to maintain law and order and not to block the ritual, the earlier court order had still not been carried out on the ground, heightening tensions.

Under the court’s proposal, a small group of five individuals chosen by the court would be allowed to climb the hill and perform symbolic prayers near the spot previously identified by the judiciary. According to another bench reading of the proceedings, the prayer ritual in this context is intended to honour judicial directions without directly involving the full lamp‑lighting practice, offering a middle path to ease communal and administrative friction.

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The broader controversy began after a petitioner sought directions to light the Karthigai Deepam — a traditional ritual involving a flaming lamp — at the ancient stone pillar on Thiruparankundram Hilltop during the festival. A single‑judge order in December 2025 permitted the practice, but authorities cited law‑and‑order concerns in failing to implement it. Subsequent protests, appeals and legal interventions have since kept the matter in active judicial and social focus.

Critics of the government’s stance, including some Hindu groups, have accused the state and administrative bodies of bias and obstruction, arguing the ritual is a legitimate religious tradition. Complicating matters, the disputed site also houses a Sikandar Badushah Dargah, and questions around communal coexistence, archaeological history and religious rights have all been brought into the legal battle.

The high court’s suggestion of a court‑nominated five‑person prayer team aims to respect judicial mandates while tempering potential law‑and‑order issues that have emerged around the traditional ceremony. Observers say the compromise reflects the court’s attempt to balance religious sentiments, legal authority and public peace as the dispute continues to unfold in the state’s political and cultural spotlight.

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