High Court permits Mahashivaratri puja at dargah premises in Aland; prohibitory orders imposed

High Court allows Mahashivaratri puja at Aland dargah, imposing prohibitory orders for peace and safety during the event.

The Kalaburagi Bench of the High Court of Karnataka has permitted members of Hindutva organisations to perform Mahashivaratri rituals at a shivling located on the premises of the Hazrat Ladle Mashak Dargah in Aland town of Kalaburagi district.

Allowing two separate petitions filed by Siddaramaiah Hiremath and Gurushant Tengli, along with others, the court granted permission to 13 of the 14 applicants to conduct rituals and rudrabhisheka to the shivling installed atop the samadhi of Sri Raghav Chaitanya. The worship has been permitted between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday.

According to the petitioners, the samadhi of Raghav Chaitanya has existed on the dargah premises for nearly 400 years, and a shivling is situated atop it. The issue of performing puja at the site has been contentious over the past four years, with devotees approaching courts annually seeking permission to conduct rituals on Mahashivaratri.

This year too, Mr. Hiremath moved the High Court seeking permission for the observance.

The management committee of the dargah challenged the order before the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the proposed rituals. The apex court, however, declined to interfere with the High Court’s order.

Earlier, the committee had also filed an appeal before the Kalaburagi Bench against a February 11 order permitting Mr. Hiremath to perform puja. The appeal was dismissed.