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The Supreme Court on Monday declined urgent hearing of a plea against the practice of state-sponsored ceremonial honours or offering a 'Chadar' by the Prime Minister at the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the 13th-century Sufi saint, in Ajmer.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to grant an urgent hearing of the matter. "No listing today," the bench said as advocate Barun Sinha, appearing for petitioners, mentioned the matter seeking urgent hearing. During the brief mentioning, the advocate stated that a similar plea concerning the Sankat Mochan Mandir was already pending before the court and sought an urgent stay on the proposed offering of the 'chadar'. The bench said it would not allow any matter to be listed on the same day and that, if the plea met the threshold of urgency, it could be listed later, either on December 26 or on December 29. The petitioners sought to prohibit the government of India, including the Prime Minister, from offering ceremonial homage such as 'chadar' at the Ajmer Dargah as part of the annual Urs celebrations, saying "such acts are contrary to the will of the people, national sovereignty, and the ethos of the Indian Constitution". Offering a ceremonial 'chadar' at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah has been a long-standing tradition, initiated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 and followed by successive Prime Ministers. The petition was filed by Jitender Singh, president of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, and Vishnu Gupta, national president of Hindu Sena. The PIL challenged "state-sponsored ceremonial honours, official patronage, and symbolic recognition" extended to Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti by Union government authorities. It is alleged, citing historical records, that Moinuddin Chisti arrived in India during the invasions of Shahabuddin Ghori in the 12th century and was associated with foreign conquest and conversion campaigns, with his dargah being institutionalised much later. "Historical records indicate that Moinuddin Chishti was associated with foreign invasions that conquered Delhi and Ajmer and caused mass subjugation and conversions of the native population, actions fundamentally contrary to India's sovereignty, dignity, and civilisational ethos. Extending ceremonial homage to such a figure undermines the values enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution, including justice, liberty, equality, and national integrity, and disregards the will of the people," the petition stated. (ANI)
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