80% Indian Haj Pilgrims may miss out on Haj as Saudi cancels quota for Private Operators
New Delhi/Mumbai: In a major setback to over 52,000 Indians who had booked their Haj pilgrimage through private tour operators, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has issued a fresh circular stating that only 20% of the private quota that were booked already will be confirmed initially. This means that 80% of those who registered under Combined Haj Group Organisers (CHGOs) may not be able to perform Haj 2025.
The development comes after the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah shut down access to the Nusuk portal—a mandatory online platform used to finalise contracts and services for pilgrims. Due to delays in payments and non-finalisation of service agreements, the Saudi authorities cancelled Mina Zones 1 and 2, which had been allotted to CHGOs. The remaining zones (3, 4 and 5) have also been held up, further worsening the situation.
According to the circular, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has held private tour operators responsible for the lapse. It stated that each CHGO was supposed to independently finalise service arrangements on the Nusuk portal, but most of them failed to upload contracts or process payments on time. The Saudi authorities, as a result, revoked access and froze all zones meant for private Indian pilgrims.
However, a private tour operator speaking to Vartha Bharati on condition of anonymity stated that the lapses were made from the government’s side, as starting last year, the Saudi authorities had made changes to the procedure and had asked the Private Operators to deposit their payments to through the government channel and the government had to deposit the amount to Saudi authorities. The operator who spoke to VB further added that majority of these operators had deposited their payments to the government while a few might have delayed it. He added prior to 2024, the private operators used to make payments directly from their accounts to Saudi authorities.
“The government, however, while waiting to the payment from all the operators, delayed the payment and that led to the closure of payment channels of Saudi authorities. Because of the negligence of the government, all the operators, including those who had processed their payments are now facing difficulty,” the operator alleged.
What is Mina and Why This Decision Matters?
Mina, known as the "tent city", is a crucial location for the Haj pilgrimage. Pilgrims stay here for five days during the ritual. The vast tent city is divided into five zones based on distance from the Jamarat, the symbolic pillars representing the devil, where the ritual of stone-pelting is performed.
For better planning and crowd control, the Saudi authorities allocate these zones in advance. Indian CHGOs had booked tents and made arrangements based on these allocated zones. However, the sudden cancellation of Zones 1 and 2 — which were among the most sought-after zones due to their proximity to Jamarat — and the halt in payments for the remaining zones has uprooted all existing arrangements.
Saudi Side Agrees to Reopen Portal for Limited Time
Following this chaos, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has taken up the matter with the highest levels of the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah. As a result, the Saudi side has agreed to temporarily reopen the Nusuk portal—but only for a short and unspecified window. This short reopening will allow CHGOs to upload service contracts and finalise accommodation, transport and logistics arrangements for their pilgrims.
However, the circular warns that since only a limited number of zones and camps are now available in Mina, the allocation will happen on a real-time and first-come-first-serve basis. There is no clarity yet on how many tents or zones will be available or which zones they will be in.
To manage this process, a help desk has been set up at the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All CHGOs or their representatives have been asked to reach the help desk directly, along with details of their pilgrims and passport numbers, proof of accommodation in Mecca and Madinah, and evidence of payment.
There is no guarantee that all CHGOs will get equal or enough tents, and if camps are exhausted, many pilgrims may be left without basic accommodation in Mina—making it impossible to perform the mandatory rituals.
Allocation Policy Announced
As per the new guidelines:
• 20% of the booked quota will be initially allocated to each CHGO.
• The remaining camps will be evenly distributed among all CHGOs.
• If there are still any leftover camps, they will be given on a first-come-first-serve basis.
This process will be handled by the help desk at CGI Jeddah, and CHGOs have been asked to act urgently as the Saudi portal window may close anytime.
What Went Wrong?
According to senior officials, the Saudi side cancelled Zones 1 and 2 because of delays in payments by CHGOs. However, CHGOs have a different version. They claim that the IBAN (International Bank Account Number) linked to the Nusuk portal was not active, which blocked their ability to make payments directly.
Due to this issue, they were instructed to route payments via the Haj Committee of India, which would then send the money to the Consul General of India in Jeddah, who would finally credit it to the CHGOs' Nusuk wallets. However, several CHGOs said their payments were not reflected on the system even after following these steps.
“Many of us paid through the Haj Committee or directly to the IBAN-linked account. But the transactions didn’t show up. If the IBAN had been activated on time, this entire mess could have been avoided,” said a representative of one CHGO.
Some CHGOs also blamed the lack of coordination between the Indian Consul General in Jeddah, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and Saudi authorities for the crisis.
Financial Loss and Fear of Cancellation
Private Haj operators are now staring at huge financial losses as well as a credibility crisis. They had already booked pilgrims, committed packages, arranged flights and even paid advance money for services. With zones cancelled and contracts not finalised, the entire operation is now under threat.
More importantly, thousands of Indian pilgrims—who had chosen to perform Haj through these private tour operators—are at risk of missing Haj 2025 altogether.
One tour operator told us, “We had promised our pilgrims premium locations near Jamarat. The government had managed to get us the best zones, but now all those plans have gone haywire. Our reputation and trust are at stake.”
Most pilgrims had chosen CHGOs due to personalised services and early access to prime zones in Mina. But now, they are staring at the possibility of missing Haj altogether—despite having made full payments.
“This is heartbreaking. We paid in full, got confirmations, and now we’re told we might not go,” said a pilgrim from Mumbai who booked through a CHGO. “We were mentally and spiritually prepared. What do we do now?”
As per the Haj calendar, pilgrims are expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia in the last week of May, with Haj rituals scheduled for the first week of June. The situation is therefore extremely time-sensitive.
High Stakes for Pilgrims and the Government
India has a total Haj quota of 1.75 lakh pilgrims for 2025. Out of this, about 52,507 pilgrims had opted to go through HGOs, while the rest are handled by the Haj Committee of India.
This issue has jeopardized the pilgrimage plans of over 30% of Indian Haj applicants this year. If the matter is not resolved immediately, it could result in the entire CHGO quota being forfeited, which would be a massive blow for the community, the private tour operators, and the Indian government's image.
This is not just about logistics — it's about the dream of a lifetime for thousands of devout Muslims who spend years saving for this religious journey.
Call for Better Coordination and Accountability
Several CHGOs have raised serious concerns over the lack of coordination between the Indian Consulate in Jeddah, the Ministry of Minority Affairs in Delhi, and the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah. They say the system is too complex and unorganised, and such technical glitches should not be allowed to affect such a sensitive issue like Haj.
They are now demanding a simplified, transparent, and coordinated process for future Haj arrangements and clear communication from all authorities involved.
As the deadline approaches, thousands of Indian pilgrims and dozens of tour operators are watching anxiously, hoping for a miracle that will help them complete their journey to the holy land. The next few days will be crucial in determining whether they get to perform Haj or return home heartbroken.
The Ministry’s circular has sent shockwaves through the private Haj sector, making it clear that only a fraction of pilgrims—just one in five bookings that were confirmed earlier—will be allowed to proceed for Haj under CHGOs this year. Unless a last-minute breakthrough is achieved with Saudi authorities, thousands of Indian Muslims who had dreamed and prayed for Haj 2025 may be forced to stay back.
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Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
