New Delhi, February 12 The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea seeking to prevent the holding of religious ceremonies within the premises of the Ladle Mashak Dargah and the Samadhi of Hindu Saint Raghava Chaitanya in Aland, Karnataka, during Mahashivaratri.
The shrine, associated with a 14th-century Sufi saint and a 15th-century Hindu saint, has historically been a place of shared worship. However, tensions arose in 2022 due to disputes over religious rights at the dargah, leading to communal unrest.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma stated that Article 32 of the Constitution cannot be invoked by the petitioner, as the issue is already being heard by the Karnataka High Court.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Khaleel Ansari, seeking to prevent interference with the property and to prevent any "unlawful entry, mobilization, or congregation by private parties within the property, as well as to restrain any interim orders permitting entry and worship."
Senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, representing the petitioner, argued that the High Court has already made a decision on the matter.
The Supreme Court stated that the petitioner was seeking a declaration that the property is a duly notified waqf property, which must be decided by the Waqf Tribunal.
Makhija argued that the issue involves various aspects related to the Places of Worship Act and urged the bench to tag it with similar cases.
However, the bench refused to intervene, and the case was dismissed as withdrawn.
In February 2025, the Karnataka High Court had permitted 15 Hindu devotees to perform Shivaratri rituals at the Raghava Chaitanya Shivaling.