A hearing in a controversial case involving a claim about a Shiva temple inside the Ajmer Dargah premises was postponed on Saturday. The civil court has now set the next date for August 30.
In preparation for the hearing, extra police were stationed near the court and Civil Lines Police Station. Advocate Yogendra Ojha explained that the hearing was delayed because the judicial officer was on leave and the court staff were also on mass leave.
Ojha said that earlier applications filed by the Dargah Committee and the Minority Affairs Department have now been formally submitted and will be taken up for arguments during the next hearing.
The petition was filed by Vishnu Gupta, the national president of the Hindu Sena and a resident of Delhi. He has asked the court to allow uninterrupted worship at the Sankat Mochan Shiva Temple, which he claims lies within the premises of the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti.
Lawyers for the Dargah Committee and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) argued that Gupta had not followed proper legal procedure before filing his case. Gupta insists he has historical evidence to back his claim, including the ancient Sanskrit text Prithviraj Vijay, written in 1250 AD. He says this text describes the presence of a Shiva temple in Ajmer and has promised to submit both the original book and its Hindi translation in court.
Gupta also referred to the Places of Worship Act but claimed that it does not apply to the Ajmer Dargah, which he described as an “authorised religious place” under legal definitions. He added that Supreme Court lawyer Varun Kumar Sena had earlier made arguments on this point and would provide supporting documents in the next hearing.
Due to security concerns, the local police have provided protection to Gupta, following instructions from SP Vandita Rana.
The civil court had accepted Gupta’s petition on November 27, 2024, and issued notices to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Dargah Committee, and ASI. Since then, other individuals and groups—including the Anjuman Committee, Dargah Diwan Ghulam Dastagir of Ajmer, A. Imran from Bangalore, and Raj Jain from Punjab—have filed applications to become part of the case.
So far, two hearings have been held, the last one on January 24. In his petition, Gupta also cited a 1911 book titled Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive by retired judge Harbilas Sarda. He claims the book states that remnants of a temple were used to build the Dargah, and that a Jain temple may have existed where the Dargah stands today.
