Supreme court snubs urgent plea to stop PMO’s chadar offering at Ajmer Sharif

A Special Division Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant declined the oral mention of the plea, which sought to halt the offering of the chadar at the shrine of Sufi mystic Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

The advocate making the mention told the court that the chadar offering on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would send a wrong message, as a suit filed by Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta—seeking a declaration that the Ajmer Dargah was built on the remains of a Shiva temple—is pending before a Rajasthan court, The Hindu reported.

"We pray for a listing today itself. This is regarding the offer of chadar by the Honourable Prime Minister at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah today. We are seeking a stay of that offer by the Office of the Prime Minister. There is a suit pending in an Ajmer court," the lawyer was quoted as saying.

The counsel further argued that the PMO’s offering of the chadar would "prejudice the rights of the plaintiff in the suit", the report said.

However, CJI Kant refused to list the matter for urgent hearing on Monday.

When the counsel urged the court to list the plea at least on December 26, the Chief Justice said, "follow the procedure".