All except five victims came from other south Indian states and were returning from the nearby tiger reserve area where some 125,000 people converged during the mad rush to watch the 'divine' light. Critics say the authorities were not giving enough publicity to the fact that it was man-made fearing loss of devotees.

Kandarararu Maheshwararu, the supreme priest of the temple, clarified that Makara Jyoti is a star and Makara Vilakku a ritual of lighting atop the hill, facilitated by the officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board.

The fact was known to people of Kerala and the state's then temple affairs minister G Sudhakaran had confirmed this two years back. However, devotees from other states continued to rush to enjoy the bliss.

Not satisfied by the clarification of Travancore Devaswam Board's (TDB) counsel, the division bench of Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Justice PS Gopinathan wanted to know why adequate security was not being provided in the area and why the authorities want to keep the mystery alive.

"People have every right to know the truth behind the Jyoti," the bench which was monitoring the pilgrimage this season said. “If you provide unrestricted flow of pilgrims, necessary safeguards needs to be issued or completely prevent the pilgrims from taking the Pullmedu route (where the tragedy struck Friday evening).”

It observed that there was lack of coordination between various departments which led to the tragedy and also wanted to know the difference between 'Makara Jyothi' and 'Makara Vilakku.

The court had the other day pulled up the government for it's callous attitude and delay in reaching essential services to the area. The chief minister reached the area the next day while Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was away in Kolkata attending the politburo meeting of his party.

Reacting to the court's comments, chief minister VS Achuthanandan said his Government had no plans to probe whether it was a divine phenomenon or man-made as essentially it was a matter of faith for millions.

"The Government is neither going to consult astrologers or materialist scientists to ascertain the veracity of Makarajothi, which millions believe as divine and throng the temple with intense wish to sight it," the veteran communist told reporters here.