New Delhi: MPs of the DMK and other opposition parties submitted a notice with 120 signatures to Lok Sabha Speaker Pm Birla, on Tuesday, seeking impeachment proceedings against Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan.
DMK parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi, the party’s Lok Sabha leader T R Baalu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among those who handed over the impeachment notice to the Speaker.
The impeachment notice, dated December 9, 2025, says that the motion was moved under Articles 217 read with 124 of the Constitution of India for the removal of the Madras High Court judge.
It has been alleged that his conduct raised questions on judicial impartiality and transparency. The notice accuses Justice Swaminathan of showing undue favour to a senior advocate and lawyers from a particular community. It also claimed that verdicts were influenced by political ideology, going against secular Constitutional principles.
Copies of letters sent to the President and the Chief Justice of India were also enclosed with the motion.
The move comes amid the ongoing dispute over the lighting of the traditional Karthigai Deepam lamp atop the hill at Thiruparankundram, a site with a temple and a nearby dargah, following the judge’s order permitting the ritual, India Today has reported.
The judge had observed that the lamp was to be lit on the “Deepathoon” pillar by December 4, rejecting objections from the temple authorities and dargah management. The Court also asserted this would not infringe on the religious rights of the Muslim community and directed that a small group of devotees. escorted by security personnel, be allowed to perform the ritual.
The Tamil Nadu government declined to implement the ruling, citing law-and-order concerns, triggering protests by pro-Hindu groups. There were clashes with the police, and the matter has now escalated into a major political and judicial conflict.
Former BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai, in a post on X, accused the INDI Alliance of “flaunting their anti-Hindu credentials like a badge of honour.”
He said the impeachment motion, despite an appeal being pending before the Supreme Court of India, exposed what he called “minority appeasement politics.” Annamalai also alleged that the move sent a message that verdicts could be challenged through “political pressure” and claimed it posed a threat to Constitutional values.
BJP spokesperson Narayan Tirupathy also alleged that the move was aimed at intimidating the judge.
“The DMK is doing this because they want to intimidate the judge as he belongs to the Brahmin community. The DMK is known for its anti-Brahmin and anti-Hindu stance, and that is why they are doing this,” he said.
Tirupathy also claimed that the opposition does not have the required numbers for the motion to succeed, adding, “They do not have the two-thirds majority, so this will not happen.”
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has agreed to hear the state government challenging the High Court’s order permitting devotees of the Arulmighu Subramaniya Swamy Temple to light traditional ‘Karthigai Deepam lamp’ at ‘Deepathoon’.
