Supreme Court declines plea against pujas at Ladle Mashaq Dargah in Kalaburagi
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a writ petition seeking to restrain courts from permitting Hindu pujas at the Raghav Chaitanya (Shivalinga) located within the Hazrath Ladle Mashaq Dargah premises in Aland town of Kalaburagi district. The petition was dismissed as withdrawn.
According to The Hindu, a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and S.C. Sharma was hearing the plea filed by Khaleel Ansari, secretary of the managing committee of Dargah Hazrath Malikul Mashaikh Makdoom Ladle Ansari.
The petitioner submitted that the property had already been declared Waqf property by the Waqf Tribunal. Despite this, third parties were allegedly filing writ petitions and applications before the Karnataka High Court seeking permission to conduct pujas on specific occasions. The High Court had passed ad hoc orders permitting rituals from time to time, including for the upcoming Maha Shivratri on February 15.
The plea contended that such permissions would alter the religious character of the property in violation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. It sought directions to protect the Waqf status of the dargah and to restrain courts from passing interim orders permitting entry, puja, inspection, survey, construction, installation or alteration of the religious character of the property while an appeal against the Waqf declaration is pending.
The petitioner also relied on the Supreme Court’s December 2024 order which said that courts should not accept new cases challenging the religious character of places of worship.
Senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, appearing for the petitioner, contended that once the Waqf Tribunal had declared the property as Waqf, the issue should not be reopened through repeated petitions.
She submitted that since 2023, third parties had been approaching the High Court every year ahead of Maha Shivratri seeking permission to perform rituals, and temporary orders were being granted.
She argued that this affected the managing committee’s rights under Article 26 of the Constitution and sought tagging of the matter with other pending cases related to the Places of Worship Act.
The Bench, however, was not inclined to entertain the plea under Article 32. Justice Datta observed that Article 32 was not designed to be invoked merely because certain orders had been passed by a High Court. “Unless it is a pan-India issue,” he remarked, the remedy would not lie under Article 32. He indicated that if the High Court were to dismiss a petition, the aggrieved party could pursue appropriate remedies thereafter.
The Court also observed that matters relating to the declaration of Waqf property fall within the jurisdiction of the Waqf Tribunal. The request to tag the matter with the Places of Worship Act cases was declined.
The petition was ultimately dismissed as withdrawn.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
