Tue Dec 23 07:30:23 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
Madurai High Court Disposes of Petitions Regarding Archaeological Excavations in Thoothukudi District
Madurai, India – December 23, 2025 – The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has closed two long-standing public interest litigations concerning archaeological excavations at Adichanallur and Sivagalai, both located in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. The petitions, filed in 2017 and 2019 respectively by S. Kamaraj, sought continued excavation efforts and scientific research at the sites.
The court, presided over by Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan, acknowledged the significant progress made in recent years due to its continuous monitoring. The State government has excavated a substantial portion of the Adichanallur site, which previously had been under the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and established the Porunai Archaeological Museum to showcase the findings.
While the petitioner’s counsel highlighted the State’s request for the ASI to expand excavations on the remaining fenced land within Adichanallur, the court emphasized that the State could always request to the ASI for permission to excavate the area. The court strongly encouraged the ASI to “consider it positively and extend full co-operation for the excavation” if any such request were made.
Regarding Sivagalai, the court noted that excavations and scientific research have been carried out, with the findings published by the government based on expert analysis. The State government had substantially completed the excavation work. The excavated items of the first phase were likely to be displayed in the Porunai Museum next year. With the State having acted on previous court directions, the bench determined that the petitions had served their purpose and could be disposed of.
First Piper 