On December 9, members of the INDIA bloc submitted an impeachment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking the removal of Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court.
The notice, signed by 107 MPs, was handed over by DMK Parliamentary Party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi in the presence of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan, Puducherry MP Vaithilingam, and others.
The notice says that Justice Swaminathan’s conduct raises concerns about his impartiality, transparency, and commitment to the judiciary’s secular functioning. Citing Article 217 of the Constitution and other related provisions, it accuses the judge of deciding cases in line with a particular political ideology, which the MPs argue goes against the secular principles expected of the judiciary.
Article 217 outlines the appointment and service conditions of High Court judges.
Meanwhile, for nearly a week, right-wing organisations and the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP have been stirring political tensions in the state. Observers say they have picked up a new issue to push their ongoing agenda of communal polarisation, something Tamil Nadu’s electorate has repeatedly rejected, The Wire reported.
Every year during Karthigai Deepam, Tamil Hindus traditionally light lamps on the hillock behind the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swami Temple in Thirupparankundram, Madurai, a practice followed for generations. This year, however, right-wing organisations such as the RSS, Hindu Munnani, and BJP members insisted that the lamp should be lit not at the usual spot near the Uchi Pillaiyar Temple but on a pillar situated next to the Hazarath Sultan Sikandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah on the same hill.
The presence of the Sikandar Dargah has often been used by right-wing groups to provoke religious tensions, and disputes over the site date back to the early 1800s. A new controversy began on November 13, 2025, when a petition filed by Hindu Tamil Party (Hindu Makkal Katchi) founder Rama Ravi Kumar and others came before Justice G.R. Swaminathan at the Madurai Bench. The petition sought a court order requiring temple authorities to light the lamps on the pillar near the dargah, even though no previous ruling had required this.
Justice Swaminathan inspected the hill on November 19, heard the matter on November 24 and 27, reserved judgment on November 28, and delivered the verdict on December 1 — a sequence of events that later became part of the grounds for the impeachment notice submitted on December 9.
In a 49-page order, the judge repeatedly referred to the pillar near the dargah as a “deepathoon,” a term not found in earlier case documents. Although the petitioners did not provide historical proof that lamps had ever been lit there, the judgment relied on general references from Sangam literature about hilltop lamps to support their claim. The court then directed that the Karthigai Deepam be lit at this pillar on December 3, in addition to the long-standing customary site.
Speaking to the press on December 4, senior DMK leader and Minister for Natural Resources S. Regupathy reiterated the state government’s stance that the 2014 Division Bench ruling by Justices Bhavani Subbaroyan and Kalyanasundaram had clearly stated that the Deepam should be lit only at the traditional spot. He questioned how the administration could carry out a new single-judge order contradicting a settled division-bench ruling without first filing an appeal.
Concerns about potential unrest were widely acknowledged. On December 3, at 6 p.m., temple officials lit the lamps only at the customary Uchi Pillaiyar site. Anticipating this, the petitioners immediately initiated contempt proceedings. By 6:05 p.m., Justice Swaminathan took up the matter, instructed the petitioners to go up the hill and light the lamp at the so-called deepathoon, and directed CISF personnel, who usually handle High Court security, to escort and protect them.