Plea In Supreme Court Challenges PM Offering ‘Chadar’ At Ajmer Sharif Dargah
A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court of India questioning the practice of the Prime Minister offering a ceremonial chadar at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The plea challenges what the petitioners describe as State-sponsored ceremonial honour and symbolic recognition given to the Ajmer Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti by the Union Government and its agencies. It also seeks a stay on Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering a chadar at the shrine.
The matter was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi. However, the Bench declined to grant urgent listing and asked the petitioners to follow the regular procedure by approaching the court registry.
The petition has been filed by Jitender Singh, President of Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, and Vishnu Gupta, President of Hindu Sena. They have argued that the continued official patronage shown to the Ajmer Dargah is unconstitutional, arbitrary, and against the principles of secularism laid down in the Constitution.
According to the petition, the practice of a Prime Minister offering a chadar at the Ajmer Dargah began in 1947 under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and has continued without any clear constitutional or legal backing. The petitioners claim that such acts by the Head of the Government do not reflect the will of the people.
They have relied on the Constitution Bench judgment in Dargah Committee, Ajmer v. Syed Hussain Ali to argue that the Ajmer Dargah does not qualify as a religious denomination under Article 26 of the Constitution. On this basis, they contend that official State involvement in such religious practices is not justified.
It has also been pointed out that one of the petitioners has already submitted a formal representation to the Prime Minister, requesting him to refrain from offering a chadar at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The petition has been drafted by Advocate Barun Kumar Sinha and filed through Advocate-on-Record Anantha Narayana MG.
Case title: Jitender Singh v. Union of India (Diary No. 74179/2025).
