SC Refuses Plea Seeking To Restrain PM Modi From Offering 'Chadar' At Ajmer Sharif Dargah
A bench of the court told the petitioner's counsel that the court would not make any comment as the issue if not justiciable.
By Sumit Saxena
Published : January 5, 2026 at 5:53 PM IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to restrain Prime Minister Narendra Modi from offering a ceremonial 'chadar' at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, saying the issue is 'not justiciable'.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The plea had also challenged the extension of state-sponsored ceremonial honour and symbolic recognition to Islamic scholar Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and to the Ajmer Dargah by the Union government and its instrumentalities.
Advocate Barun Sinha, appearing for petitioner Jitender Singh and others, submitted that the practice of the prime minister offering a 'chadar' at the Ajmer Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, initiated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947, has continued since without any legal or constitutional basis.
The bench told the counsel, “This court would not make any comment as the issue is not justiciable.” Sinha said that a civil suit is pending in the trial court on the claim that the dargah was built over the ruins of a Shiva temple.
The bench made it clear that the dismissal of the writ petition will not have any bearing on the pending civil suit. “You go and seek appropriate relief in the civil suit,” CJI said.
The petitioners Jitender Singh and Vishnu Gupta, members of a Hindu outfit, said they are aggrieved by the “continued practice of state-sponsored ceremonial honour, official patronage and symbolic recognition extended to Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti by various instrumentalities” of the Union government.
Also Read
'Whenever I Come Here, I Find Peace': Kiren Rijiju Offers PM Modi's 'Chaddar' At Ajmer Shrine
