A long-standing dispute over lighting the Karthigai Deepam lamp on Thirupparankundram hill in Madurai has resurfaced. Thirty years ago, four Sthaneeka Bhattars of the Subramaniaswami Temple testified that the lamp had always been lit at the Uchipillaiyar Temple since “time immemorial.” This statement came during a dispute fueled by the Hindu Munnani, which first demanded in 1994 to light the lamp at a different spot on the hill. The Madras High Court, through Justice J. Kanagaraj, ruled by interim orders in 1994 and 1995 that only the temple authorities could light the lamp at the usual place. In 1995, the Hindu Munnani accused the temple of lighting the Moksha Deepam and Karthigai Deepam at the same location. The Bhattars strongly denied this, clarifying that the Karthigai Deepam was lit atop a building behind the Uchipillaiyar Temple, not near the stone 'Deepa Sthampam' close to the Dargah as claimed. They said, “at no time in their living memory was the Karthigai Deepam lit in the stone ‘Deepa Sthampam’ near the Dargah atop the temple.” Karumuthu T. Kannan, then chairman of the temple’s Board of Trustees, echoed the Bhattars’ denial. He said the tradition was to light the Karthigai Deepam on the “Deepa Sigaram” on a masonry platform next to the Uchipillaiyar Temple, while the Moksha Deepam was lit at a different, lower place. “This claim was far from true,” Kannan said emphatically. No temple records supported the Hindu Munnani's claims. The controversy affected the festival’s crowd. According to reports, many usual devotees stayed away from the temple during the Karthigai festival due to the ongoing disputes. Locals preferred to stay home while people from nearby villages moved around the town cautiously. The dispute remains a sensitive issue even after three decades, reflecting deep respect for temple traditions and strong community sentiments in Madurai.