Karnataka dargah moves Supreme Court to restrain puja on premises, flags repeated attempts to alter its character

A plea has been moved before the Supreme Court to restrain the conduct of Hindu Maha Shivaratri puja in the premises of the Ladle Mashaik Dargah and seeking directions to prevent any construction or alteration at the site which will alter its present religious character.

The matter was mentioned before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

Representing the dargah, Senior Advocate Vibha Datta Makhija urged the Court to hear the plea before the Maha Shivaratri on February 15.

"There is an Aland Dargah in Gulbarga (Kalburgi, Karnataka) ... Now they want to have Shivaratri celebrations there. If we can have it heard before February 15," she said.

The Court said it will consider the request, but lamented that such matters are increasingly being filed directly before the Supreme Court without first approaching the High Courts concerned.

"Why is everything coming in Article 32? ... The impression created is that pleas are coming because the law is convenient, and message going is that High Court is defunct. We will examine. Lets see," CJI Kant said.

The shrine at the heart of the dispute is associated with a 14th century Sufi saint, Hazrat Shaikh Alauddin Ansari (also known as Ladle Mashaik) and 15th-century Hindu saint Raghava Chaitanya, both of whose remains lie at the site. A structure referred to as the Raghava Chaitanya Shivling is also located in the premises.

Both Muslims and Hindus offered worship at the site. However, communal tensions flared in 2022 over worship rights, after some miscreants reportedly through feces on the Shivling.

In February 2025, the Karnataka High Court permitted 15 members from the Hindu community to conduct Shivaratri puja at the Raghava Chaitanya Shivaling. The same was conducted under heavy security arrangements.

A year earlier as well, it is reported that Hindu pujas were conducted to mark Shivaratri without any untoward incidents occurring, based on a Court order allowing 15 Hindus to enter the dargah premises and conduct the rituals.

According to the plea, this is a coordinated pattern to change the character of a religious place by securing interim orders from courts.

"It is respectfully submitted that the pattern is unmistakable and deeply troubling. What cannot be proved through evidence and adjudication is sought to be manufactured through interim orders sought from the High Court. What is barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 is sought to be achieved through police-facilitated entry during festivals," the plea has alleged.

As per the petition, in 1968, the Town Municipal Council of Aland, after spot inspection, had rejected an application seeking permission to construct a Samadhi/Temple within the Dargah compound. It had recorded that the site was the Mazaar of Hazrath Mardan-e-Gaib surrounded by Muslim graves, with no documentary basis for any non-Wakf construction.

Despite this settled position, repeated attempts have been made to reopen the religious character of the shrine through civil litigation, all of which failed.

As per the plea, when litigation failed, communal mobilisation was attempted and On February 1, 2022, Shree Siddalingaswamy Karuneswar Temple at Andola announced an "Aland Chalo" padayatra to "cleanse a Shivalinga" at the Mazaar on Mahashivaratri.

When the Karnataka Wakf Tribunal restrained the same, it was sought to be nullified through festival-specific applications and suits seeking permission to perform Pooja on Mahashivaratri, the plea has alleged.

"Each proceeding is timed strategically, each invokes a different forum, and each is designed to create a foothold that the next proceeding can build upon," the plea states.

According to the petition by Dargah, the latest in such attempts is the writ petition filed by Sidramayya Hiremath in 2026 before the High Court of Karnataka seeking a direction to the State and police authorities to permit him and other devotees to perform pooja within the Dargah premises on February 15 (Mahashivaratri), along with police protection.

A similar petition was also filed in 2025 by the same person in which the High Court had allowed 15 persons to enter and conduct puja on Mahashivaratri.

"These petitions are being filed year after year around Shivaratri only to create a foothold of religious entry, convert temporary access into an asserted practice, and thereafter reopen the character of the site through repeated litigation," the plea claims.