Now, waqf board says deepathoon is on dargah land

Madurai: The stone pillar atop Thiruparankundram hill in Madurai district is situated in an area belonging to Sikandar Badusha Dargah, Tamil Nadu Wakf Board said in Madras HC on Tuesday.A submission to this effect was made by the wakf board during a hearing on a batch of appeals challenging a single judge's order directing the Subramaniya Swamy temple management to light Karthigai Deepam at the stone 'Deepathoon' (lamp post) on one of the peaks of Thiruparankundram hills, apart from the other usual places.Citing a judicial order passed in a civil suit in 1920, the wakf board's counsel told a division bench of Justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan there were findings the flight of stairs from Nellithope to the hill belonged to the dargah.

There is also a finding the summit of the hill and its adjuncts, which include the area where the stone pillar and a mandapam are situated, belong to Muslims, he said. The counsel further said the stone pillar could be accessed through the dargah.

The matter regarding the right of passage can only be decided before civil court, he said.The counsel representing Madurai district collector and police commissioner submitted that in the earlier orders passed by the high court in 1996 and 2014, there is no mention about the Deepathoon (stone pillar to light lamp) at all. He added there is no evidence to show the pillar is a Deepathoon. Even in the petitioner's representation submitted to the temple authorities, there is no mention of Deepathoon. Hearing would continue on Wednesday.