'Before Mahakal, Nobody Is VIP', Says Supreme Court But Rejects Plea Against VIP Darshan At Ujjain Mahakaleshwar Temple
"If court starts regulating who should be allowed to enter the temple and who should not be…this is too much for courts," the CJI said.
By Sumit Saxena
Published : January 27, 2026 at 2:13 PM IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a plea challenging the practice of 'VIP darshan' at the Shri Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
The apex court orally observed that if people were to enter the sanctum sanctorum, invoking Articles 14, 16, 19, 20, and 21, then they should better not go there.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said one may claim the right to enter because another is allowed, or assert the right to chant mantras citing freedom of speech, and added, "So, all fundamental rights will be there only inside the sanctum sanctorum."
After the matter came up before a bench comprising CJI Surya Kant, Justice R Mahadevan, and Justice Joymalya Bagchi today, at the outset, the CJI told advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who was representing petitioner Darpan Awasthi, that the court is not inclined to entertain the plea. Jain contended that the issue pertains to entry in the temple. The CJI said, "Before Mahakal, nobody is VIP."
Jain said they made an RTI inquiry and in the minutes, they say only the VIPs at present will be given entry to the garbhagriha (innermost sanctum). "The person who file such kind of petitions are not shardhalu (worshippers). They do not go there. We do not want to comment further. These people go for different purposes," said the CJI.
"Before taking up this matter, mostly I was concerned with an equal treatment of entering into the garbhagriha (innermost sanctum) and that is the real issue. If there is violation of Article 14, that is the issue I am highlighting before the court….so far entry into garbhagriha (innermost sanctum) is concerned, there should be a uniform policy”, said Jain, stressing that entry should be on the basis of a guideline or on the basis of a uniform policy.
In response, the CJI said, "Whether it should be or not be, is not something that the court should decide. That is the point. We are only talking about justiciability…let those who are in helm of affairs take a decision not the courts."
"If the court starts regulating who should be allowed to enter the temple and who should not be allowed to…this is too much for the courts also," added the CJI.
Jain insisted that citizens cannot be discriminated against or differentiated on the basis of VIPs, and pointed out that a person enters garbhagriha (innermost sanctum) on the basis of recommendation of a collector. "A devotee, who is also visiting Mahakal…he should also have a right to enter garbhagriha (innermost sanctum)…" said Jain.
The CJI said if the people enter there garlanded with Articles (of the Constitution), 14, 16, and sometimes 19, then 20 and 21, then better they should not go. "(They) will say now I have a right to enter because so and so is entering, I will enter there. Then you will say, I have a right to chant the mantras here because I have a right to speech. So, all fundamental rights will be there only inside the sanctum sanctorum," the CJI remarked.
After the bench expressed disinclination to entertain the plea, the petitioner chose to withdraw it, with liberty to file a representation before the concerned authorities.
It is pertinent to note here that the petitioner had challenged an August 28 (2025) judgment of the Madhya Pradesh high court, which dismissed a public interest litigation seeking equal access for all devotees to perform darshan and rituals inside the sanctum.
The plea claimed that since 2023, the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple administrative committee has restricted entry of general devotees into the garbhagriha for performing pooja and 'jal abhishek' (pouring holy water), while continuing to permit "so-called" VIPs to do so with special permission.
Also Read:
