Case and court order
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed a public interest litigation related to prayer permissions at the Tirupparankundram hill in Madurai during the Ramzan festival. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner.
What the petitioner alleged
The PIL was filed by Ramesh, a managing trustee of Hindu Dharma Parishad. He claimed that Hindus were being denied permission to light the lamp at the Deepasthambam and to worship at the site, while Muslims were allowed to offer prayers on the hill during Ramzan without similar restrictions.
Action sought against officials
The petitioner said he had sent representations to the Union and State Home Secretaries seeking action against the Madurai Collector, the Police Commissioner, an Archaeology Department official and the Joint Commissioner of the Subramaniaswamy temple. He sought a direction to consider those representations.
Court’s reasoning
A bench comprising Justices N. Sathish Kumar and M. Jothiraman noted that similar matters were already pending. The judges observed that the petitioner appeared to be repeatedly filing such petitions and dismissed the plea with costs.
