# ASI withdraws cooking ban on Tirupparankundram hill after HC hearing 2026-10-09T17:01:19+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Friday, 9 October 2026, withdrew its restriction on cooking food on the Tirupparankundram hill during the Malai Mel Kumarar festival after the matter was raised before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The Division Bench of Justices P Velmurugan and KK Ramakrishnan noted the ASI had withdrawn the condition prohibiting cooking of prasadam on the hilltop. The court was told the Supreme Court had directed the continuation of customary practices on a status quo basis. Petitioners said the festival, which involves carrying the sacred Vel of Lord Murugan to the hilltop and preparing kadamba rice prasadam, had been celebrated from time immemorial. The ASI had imposed conditions on 8 October including a ban on cooking and fire-related activities. After the ASI produced fresh proceedings dated 9 October withdrawing the restriction, the court dismissed the petition for permission to cook as infructuous and disposed of the other petition, leaving the question of ASI jurisdiction open. The court directed the Madurai City Police Commissioner to ensure the festival was conducted peacefully. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both dtnext.in and The Hindu gave straight factual coverage of the ASI withdrawing its cooking ban after the High Court hearing, with near-identical accounts of the festival, the petitioners' arguments, and the court order. The two outlets differ only in minor phrasing and the inclusion by dtnext.in of the jurisdictional point left open. The uniform neutral-report coverage across both sources reflects wire-style reporting on a court-driven development, where the decisive action was the ASI's own withdrawal. The key open point, left for future proceedings, is whether the ASI has jurisdiction over such customary practices on the hill. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - dtnext.in (neutral report) Straight factual reporting with no editorial slant - thehindu.com (neutral report) Straight factual reporting with no editorial slant This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: ASI, Lord Murugan, Madras High Court, Madurai, Tirupparankundram Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/asi-withdraws-cooking-ban-on-tirupparankundram-hill-after-hc-hearing/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/asi-withdraws-cooking-ban-on-tirupparankundram-hill-after-hc-hearing/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/