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Several MPs moved an impeachment motion against Madras HC Judge GR Swaminathan, who ordered a temple located near a dargah to light the lamp at the ‘deepathoon’ (pillar).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha. (Sansad TV)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for introducing an impeachment motion against a Madras High Court judge, saying this has never happened in the history of independent India.
He was referring to a motion by opposition MPs, including the DMK, for the removal of Madras High Court Judge GR Swaminathan, who ordered Subramaniya Swamy temple authorities to ensure that a lamp is lit at the deepathoon (pillar) near a dargah.
“When they lose a case, they accuse the judge. When they lose an election, they blame the EVM. Since no one is paying attention to EVMs, they brought allegations of vote theft,” Shah said in his fierce attack on the Opposition during his address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
“This has never happened in all the years after independence that a judge is facing impeachment for delivering a judgment. They brought an impeachment motion to appease their vote bank. The people of the country will not help them,” he added.
Parliamentary party leader of the DMK, Kanimozhi, the party’s Lok Sabha leader TR Baalu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra handed the notice with over 120 signatures for moving a motion for the removal of the judge.
What Is The Matter?
On December 1, a single judge bench of Justice Swaminathan had held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the deepathoon, a stone lamp pillar located on the Thiruparankundram hillock close to the dargah.
It had said doing so will not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community. When the order remained unimplemented, the single judge passed another order on December 3 permitting devotees to light the lamp and directed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to ensure their protection. This led the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government to move to the Supreme Court.
The issue of lighting of the traditional lamp at the hilltop temple near Madurai rocked the Lok Sabha last week, with Baalu accusing the BJP of trying to “ignite” communal tensions in Tamil Nadu and Union minister L Murugan hitting back at the state government for “denying the right to worship”. The SC on December 5 agreed to consider hearing a plea of the state government challenging the Madras HC order.
The notice alleged that the conduct of Justice Swaminathan raises serious questions regarding impartiality, transparency, and the secular functioning of the judiciary. It also alleged that Justice Swaminathan showed “undue favoritism” to Senior Advocate M Sricharan Ranganathan and favoured advocates from a particular community while deciding the cases.
(with PTI inputs)
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 10, 2025, 18:06 IST
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