Bengaluru, Jan. 10 -- The Madras high court on Friday issued a warning to the Madurai district administration and police, cautioning that contempt charges would be framed if they failed to offer a satisfactory explanation for issuing prohibitory orders and obstructing the implementation of its directions permitting the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at Thiruparankundram hill. Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench observed that the prohibitory order issued by the district collector under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, followed by police obstruction, appeared to have been deliberately aimed at frustrating the court's December 1 order allowing the ritual at the stone pillar known as the Deepathoon. The judge warned that unless "proper cause is shown," charges would be framed against the alleged contemnors on February 2, 2026. "This Court vide order dated 01.12.2025 allowed lighting the Karthigai Deepam atop the Thiruparankundram hill at the Deepathoon. This order was not obeyed. To frustrate the judicial order, a prohibitory order under Section 163 of BNSS, 2023 was passed. Even though this order was quashed, the police obstructed the implementation of this Court's directions," recorded justice Swaminathan, naming the district collector and the deputy commissioner of police. The court was hearing contempt petitions against the Madurai district collector, the city police commissioner and the executive officer of the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple after devotees were prevented from accessing the hill on December 4, despite clear judicial directions issued on December 1 and reiterated in subsequent hearings. In a fresh development during the hearing, Yagna Narayanan, the executive officer of the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple, told the court that following the division bench's January 6 ruling affirming that the Deepathoon area belongs to the temple, the management of the nearby dargah was liable for criminal prosecution for trespass. Narayanan said he would lodge a police complaint and initiate criminal proceedings against dargah officials for allegedly tying a red flag bearing a crescent symbol on a sacred and historically significant tree in the Deepathoon area during the Sandhanakoodu festival, without permission. The court recorded the submission. The district magistrate and the deputy commissioner of police, for their part, submitted that they had acted independently and not under any external direction or pressure. The court recorded their statements and posted the contempt proceedings for further hearing on February 2....