Madurai Temple Lamp Row: Senior advocates and advocates practicing before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court have termed the move a motion of impeachment against Justice GR Swaminathan as “baseless.”
It was argued that the move by a section of Tamil Nadu MPs amounted to crossing the “Lakshman Rekha” drawn between the judiciary and the legislature.
The Political Angle: Madurai Temple Lamp Row
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its allies had argued that the order by Justice Swaminathan undermined a 2017 bench ruling that disallowed court interference in temple rituals. It was also claimed that the decision of the judge risks communal tension, especially with the Assembly elections less than six months away.
Led by the DMK, 107 INDIA Bloc MPs submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asking for the impeachment of Justice Swaminathan. Notice copies were also sent to President Droupadi Murmu and the Chief Justice of India.
The opposition went on to accuse the High Court Judge of allegedly favouring senior advocate M Sricharan Ranganathan in a series of cases. The impeachment notice raises damning questions regarding transparency, impartiality and the secular functioning of the judiciary.
The impeachment move was blasted by Home Minister Amit Shah who went to accuse the opposition of “appeasement politics.” Shah said it was unprecedented for a judge to face impeachment proceedings over a judicial ruling.
Fifty-six former judges wrote an open letter in defense of Justice Swaminathan. The statement by ex-judges termed the impeachment move as a “brazen attempt” to “browbeat judges” who refuse to align with the political or ideological expectations of a specific section of society.
Why The Impeachment Move?
Justice GR Swaminathan permitted devotees of Arulmighu Subramaniya Swamy Temple to light traditional ‘Karthigai Deepam lamp’ at ‘Deepathoon’, which is a stone lamp pillar located on the Thiruparankundram hillock close to the Sultan Sikkandar Avulia Dargah or the Sikkandar Dargah (‘Sikkandar Malai’).
In recent weeks, several BJP leaders and Hindu outfits have accused Muslim sections of renaming the Thiruparankundram hills as ‘Sikkandar Malai’. The hill in Madurai houses temples, including the first of the six abodes of Lord Subramanya Swamy.
What the RSS Chief Had Said?
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently remarked that the Madurai temple lamp row can be resolved locally. Bhagwat had also said that the issue is possible of getting resolved amicably by the awakening and strength of the Hindu community in Tamil Nadu, without any requirement for national escalation.