Final hearing in Ajmer Dargah dispute on Saturday

Ajmer: The final hearing in the high-profile Ajmer Dargah dispute case will take place in the Ajmer Civil Court on Saturday, with both sides scheduled to present their concluding responses.

The court is expected to deliberate on the maintainability of the petition filed by Hindu Sena National President Vishnu Gupta, who claims that the revered Sufi shrine was built over a demolished Hindu temple.

During the last hearing held on May 31, the court indicated it would decide whether Gupta’s petition is legally sustainable.

Prior to that, Gupta had submitted a stay application requesting that all government departments be barred from offering chadar at the Dargah.

In response, the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) filed their replies before the court.

The case stems from a petition filed by Gupta, asserting that the Ajmer Dargah occupies the original site of a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

In turn, the Dargah Committee filed a plea seeking the dismissal of the case. The Anjuman Committee, affiliated with the Dargah, has also moved the Rajasthan High Court on the matter.

Gupta’s argument rests on three main claims. He contends that the architectural style of the Buland Darwaza within the Dargah complex strongly resembles Hindu temple design, particularly its carvings and ornamentation.

He also points to architectural remnants resembling temple structures seen in the domes and upper parts of the shrine. Gupta further claims that the site contains water features commonly associated with traditional Shiva temples, supporting his contention that the location was once the Sankat Mochan Mahadev Mandir.

Gupta says he is prepared to submit in court a Sanskrit manuscript titled ‘Prithviraj Vijay’, dated to 1250 AD, along with its Hindi translation. He claims the text contains historical references to Ajmer’s religious history.

He has also cited arguments made by advocate Varun Kumar Sena in the Supreme Court, insisting that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act does not apply to the Ajmer Dargah, as it is a religious site and not covered under the Act’s purview.

Security for Gupta has been provided on the instructions of Superintendent of Police Vandita Rana, following a formal request from the petitioner.

The petition was accepted by the Ajmer Civil Court on November 27, 2024. Subsequently, the court issued notices to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Dargah Committee, and the ASI.

Several others have moved applications seeking to be included as parties in the proceedings, including the Anjuman Committee, Dargah Diwan Ghulam Dastagir (Ajmer), A. Imran from Bengaluru, and Raj Jain from Hoshiarpur, Punjab.

Gupta also referenced the 1911 publication Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive, authored by retired judge Harbilas Sarda, which allegedly mentions that debris from a Hindu temple was used during the construction of the Dargah.

The petition additionally suggests that a Jain temple may have once stood in the sanctum sanctorum of the site.

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