Sufis have filed an application in the Ajmer Civil Court to be included as a 'necessary party' in the suit claiming the existence of a Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple within the Ajmer's Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti dargah complex. The suit is scheduled for further hearing today (December 20).
On November 27, the Civil Court issued notices to the Dargah committee, the Archeological Survey of India, and the Ministry of Minority Affairs, asking for their response to the petition.
The application, filed by Sufi Raj Jain of the Sarva Dharam Khawaja Mandir, a Sufi group dedicated to the teachings of an organisation dedicated to the saint's teachings, said that they represented the millions of devotees of the saint.
The suit will be heard even as the Supreme Court on December 12 stopped surveys and fresh suits against existing religious places till the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 is decided.
The law requires the maintenance of the character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. This means the lower courts cannot pass any effective orders or surveys.
Mansoor Khan, president of the Mumbai-based Sufi Islamic Board, said that Sufis wanted to be included as a party as they are the saint's devotees. "The khadims (one of the respondents in the case) are there at the shrine, but the devotees travel thousands of kilometres to pay their respects at the shrine. We should be heard," said Khan.
Two other applications have been made for inclusion in the suit. The tomb of 13th-century saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer will begin its 814th Urs or annual festival on December 28.
