MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has decided to hear all appeals filed and going to be filed against the Thiruparankundram Karthigai Deepam verdict dated December 1, on December 12.
A bench of justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan took the decision while taking up the appeals filed by the collector and executive officer of the Thiruparankundram Subramaniya Swamy temple, challenging the above order passed by Justice GR Swaminathan. All those who were parties to the proceedings in the order and wish to file appeal can file their appeals by Friday so that we can hear them together, the judges said.
Since allegations were made that the matter is being precipitated outside, the judge said, "We want to tell all counsels to instruct their clients not to provoke the court or do anything contemptuous. The court will tolerate to some extent but don't take it for granted."
In the said order, Justice Swaminathan has quashed the EO's proceedings rejecting Rama Ravikumar's request to light the deepam on the Deepathoon near the dargah atop the hill and directed the officer to light Karthigai Deepam on the Deepathoon also, along with the usual places, from this year onwards.
Meanwhile, Justice Swaminathan adjourned the contempt petition filed by Ravikumar over non-compliance of the above order to December 9. While hearing the said petition on Wednesday evening, the judge had permitted the petitioner to light the deepam on the Deepathoon with CISF security.
However, the police prevented the petitioner from doing so citing the prohibitory order passed by the Madurai collector around the same time. The said prohibitory order was quashed by the judge on Thursday evening with a direction to the city police commissioner to give full protection to the petitioner to enforce the order, and the matter was listed on Friday morning at 10.30 am for reporting compliance.
Though the said direction was also not complied with by the police, the judge adjourned the contempt petition in view of the pendency of the appeals before the division bench and also the fact that the state has preferred a Special Leave Petition against the dismissal of the Letters Patent Appeal filed against his interim order in the contempt proceedings.
