Divine or not? Is ‘Makara Jyothi’ man-made?: HC asks Travancore Devaswom Board

In the backdrop of the Pullmedu tragedy which claimed lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims,Kerala High court today asked the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) which manages the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa,if ‘Makara Jyothi’ (celestial light) was man-made.

This question was put to the TDB Senior counsel T G Paraneshwar Nair by a division bench comprising justice Thothathil B Radhakrishnan and justice P S Gopinath when reports filed by Kerala DGP,Forest department and TDB on the Pulmedu tragedy which claimed 102 lives came up before it.

The tragedy had occurred as large number of devotees were returning after witnessing the ‘Makara Jyothi’ on Jan 14 at Pullmedu in Idukki district.

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The TDB counsel said ‘Makara Jyothi’ includes a celestial star which is considered to be divine.

Board has not given any publicity that it was ‘divine’,he stated.

The bench then said ‘People should know what is what’. Court orally asked the TDB to clarify this aspect.

There is a heavy rush of pilgrims from various parts of the country to witness the ‘Makara Jyothi’.