Madurai Temple Row: TN Archaeology Survey Draws Legal Fire

• A decades-old religious ritual at a Madurai temple, lighting the Karthigai Deepam lamp at a stone pillar near a dargah, has sparked a major controversy in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
• The Tamil Nadu archaeology department surveyed the stone pillar, drawing legal objections as the matter is sub judice.
• The Madras High Court allowed a peaceful hunger strike by residents demanding the ritual, while also triggering the controversy with orders to permit the lamp lighting.
• Opposition MPs, led by DMK, filed an impeachment notice against Justice GR Swaminathan, whose court orders initiated the dispute.

Why It Matters: TN temple dispute threatens judicial independence, fuels political conflict.