Last Updated:January 07, 2026, 17:33 IST Initiating suo motu contempt, the high court said the book allegedly contained “scandalous, abusive and derogatory” attacks against a sitting judge, Justice GR Swaminathan The book targets Justice GR Swaminathan, who delivered the controversial Madurai ‘deepam’ verdict. (Image: PTI/File) The Madras High Court has stayed the release and distribution of a book targeting Justice GR Swaminathan, who delivered the controversial Madurai deepam verdict. Initiating suo motu contempt, the high court said the book allegedly contained “scandalous, abusive and derogatory” attacks against a sitting judge. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Arul Murugan, observed that the book, titled Thirupparankundran Affair: Is GRS a Judge or… raises “serious concerns relating to the dignity and institutional authority of the judiciary”. According to reports, the book has been published by Keezhaikaatru Publishers and follows the recent controversy over Justice Swaminathan’s verdict in the Madurai lamp lighting row, in which he directed the lighting of a lamp on a stone pillar atop the Thirupparakundran hill near a dargah – an …