Archaeology department studies disputed pillar

Madurai's Thiruparankundram hill became the focus of an official archaeological inspection this week as a team from the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology studied a stone pillar known locally as the "deepathoon", amid heated debate over its identity and use.

- HD Bureau

The seven-member team, led by Deputy Director Yatish Kumar, spent several hours on the hillside measuring and analysing the structure that is at the centre of a protracted legal and cultural dispute.

The move follows a directive from a single judge of the Madras High Court earlier this month that ordered the ceremonial lighting of the Karthigai Deepam on the pillar, prompting a contempt petition after officials did not comply with the instruction. The state government has filed an appeal against the order, and a division bench of the High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on December 12.