No illegality in judge taking assistance of Central forces in Deepathoon case, says HC

Dismissing a State entreaty against a single judge’s bid permitting litigants to airy the Karthigai Deepam astatine the Deepathoon (pillar) atop the Tirupparankundram hill, a Division Bench of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court connected Thursday (December 4, 2025) held that determination was nary illegality successful the justice asking the CISF unit to travel the litigant.

“The Single Judge, having recovered that the State machinery wilfully decided not to instrumentality the direction, citing pendency of the unnumbered appeal, sought the assistance of the CISF for enforcing the directions. A concern has arisen successful which the State constabulary is incapable to transportation retired the Constitutional mandate. There is nary illegality successful taking the assistance of the Central unit for the purpose, if the circumstances warrant it,” the Bench said.

Hearing the entreaty filed by Madurai Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar and Police Commissioner J. Loganathan, Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan said the sum and substance of the quality is regarding the close of worship, which is guaranteed nether Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, too the Constitutional work of the State machinery to instrumentality the bid of the court.

“In this case, the bid passed by the Single Judge was not complied with by the temple authorities. When that was brought to the announcement of the Single Judge, an alternate alleviation was granted truthful that the bid volition person a purposeful meaning. Even that bid was not complied with by the appellants,” the tribunal said.

The Bench said it appeared that, to decision the order, the Collector had invoked the enforcement powerfulness conferred connected him nether Section 163 of BNSS. “Showing the prohibitory order, the Police Commissioner refused introduction to the petitioners to scope the hilltop. The bid was passed by the Collector, pursuant to the connection by the Police Commissioner...we find that determination is simply a circumstantial denotation that the prohibitory bid shall not use for immoderate assembly oregon procession connected the juncture of a spiritual ceremony,” the judges said.

From the series of events, the tribunal held that the appellants, fearing enactment implicit the contemptuous act, had travel to the tribunal done the Letter Patent Appeal arsenic a pre-emptive step.

“We are wide successful our caput that the consequent bid successful the contempt petition passed connected December 3 is not an bid modifying the earlier bid passed connected December 1, and it is not beyond the 4 corners of the main writ petition. When the Court recovered that the alleviation sought earlier had not been implemented to service the intent of the order, the Single Judge permitted the petitioners to airy the lamp astatine the Deepathoon,” the Bench held.