Today, On 5th January, The Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging state-sponsored ceremonial honours at Ajmer Dargah and the chadar offering to Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti by Prime Minister Modi. Citing it as “infructuous” and “not a justiciable issue,” Court rejected the plea.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition that sought to challenge the extension of state-sponsored ceremonial honors to the Ajmer Dargah and the Islamic figure Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel highlighted that the tradition of honoring the saint has been in place since 1947, and noted that a civil suit on the matter is currently pending.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant stated that such matters are not justiciable and encouraged the petitioner to continue with the ongoing civil suit.
The bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi, clarified that their remarks would not impact the ongoing civil case filed by the second petitioner.
The Bench indicated that the matter has become moot since the chadar offering has already taken place.
The Court declared,
“This is infructuous now. This is not a justiciable issue. No issue raised is justiciable. Writ petition is dismissed,”
Nonetheless, the Court emphasized that this decision will not impact the civil suit currently awaiting resolution in the Ajmer court regarding the Dargah.
The top court stated,
“Suit is pending, pursue it. This order shall have no bearing on the pending civil suit,”
They ruled that the relief sought in the petition lacked legal sustainability. The civil suit remains active in the lower courts.
Earlier, On December 22, 2025, a request was made to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from delivering a ceremonial chadar at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah during the 814th Urs of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti.
The Supreme Court, however, decided not to prioritize the matter. The mention was made before a vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The petitioner’s counsel urged the court to stay the offering of the chadar, citing a related plea regarding the Sankat Mochan Mandir at Ajmer that is also pending.
Despite this, the Chief Justice opted not to entertain the request, stating, “No listing today,” while declining the urgent consideration of the plea.
According to media sources, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju was slated to present the chadar at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on behalf of Prime Minister Modi as part of the annual Urs tradition.
This ceremonial offering of the chadar by the Prime Minister has been a longstanding practice upheld by successive leaders.
The current case is not the first legal challenge involving the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
Earlier this year, in January, Vishnu Gupta, then President of Hindu Sena, filed a similar suit in Ajmer. This application was connected to an ongoing civil suit claiming that the Ajmer Sharif Dargah was built on the site of a demolished Shiva temple.
Gupta argued that the Central government’s action of sending a chadar to what he termed a “disputed structure” represented interference with the judicial process.
He maintained that such ceremonial acts jeopardize judicial independence and the right to a fair trial, especially since the matter is pending before the trial court.
Previously, in September 2024, Gupta had filed a civil suit in an Ajmer District Court, asserting that the Ajmer Dargah was constructed over a Shiva temple.
This case stemmed from a plea filed on September 24, aiming to officially declare the disputed site as ‘Bhagwan Shri Sankatmochan Mahadev Virajman Temple.’
The plea, put forth by Advocate Shashi Ranjan Singh on behalf of Hindu Sena, contended that historical records do not provide solid evidence that the Ajmer Dargah was built on unoccupied land. Instead, it suggested that a Mahadeva temple once existed at that site, where Hindu devotees worshipped before the Dargah’s construction.
The plea further alleged that Muslim invaders had destroyed the ancient Shiva Temple and subsequently erected the Ajmer Dargah over it. It included claims that “Books and Evidence” support the idea that the design of the main entrance gate of the Ajmer Shrine resembles traditional Hindu architecture.
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