Renovation around Sufi shrine needed to ‘protect its sanctity’: Gujarat govt to HC

The state said that the Imamshah Bawa shrine was a private property run by a trust, but the renovation around it required permission from the district collector

Seeking dismissal of a public interest litigation (PIL) against attempts of converting a 600-year-old Sufi shrine to a Hindu place of worship on the pretext of renovation, the Gujarat government in an affidavit stated that the shrine was a private property run by a trust, and the renovation around it was “required in order to protect its sanctity.”

The affidavit was submitted before the Gujarat High Court in response to a PIL filed by Sunni Awami Forum, through its trustee Usman Haji Ahmed Qureshi. The petitioner approached the court with photographs as proof to establish that the shrine of Pir Imam Shah Bawa, located at Pirana village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, was being converted to a Hindu religious place by altering its Islamic symbols and structures.

Methodical conversion to ‘Hindu religious place’

The PIL also stated that idols were installed in the premises in recent months.

The PIL alleged that the nature of the Sufi shrine was being altered in violation of the prohibition imposed by Places of Worship Act, 1991. It said that the “illegal conversion” of Imamshah Bawa Dargah and the surrounding Muslim religious places/structures to Hindu religious places/structures was “grossly unconstitutional”, as even the existence of ‘Pir Imam Shah Bawa’ was being converted “to ‘Shree Nishkalanki Maharaj’ and the ‘Pir Imamshah Bawa Roza’ is converted to ‘Shree Nishkalanki Narayan Tirthdhaam Prernatirth’.”

Read | Cement wall widens divide between Hindu and Muslim followers of Sufi Saint

The Division Bench, led by Chief Justice Aravind Kumar, while refusing to order status quo sought the government’s response. The affidavit, filed by mamlatdar Akshar Vyas on behalf of the state government, stated that the petitioner had no locus standi as the “holy shrine”, run by Imamshah Bawa Roza Trust, is a private property under Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950.

The affidavit also made a preliminary objection to the PIL, stating that it was not maintainable because the property was vested in respondent number-7 (the trust), but petitioner has not impleaded the charity commissioner as a party.

Shrine private property but needs civic authority nod

The trust was set up in 1939; a civil court in Ahmedabad formulated a seven-member committee to manage the Imamshah Bawa Roza shrine, and the chairman of the committee is called Gadiwala Kaka.

There are seven elected Hindu trustees, and three Muslim members—Saiyed or Sadat—who are the descendants of the Sufi saint Imam Shah Bawa. The Hindu followers are called “Satpanthis” (those on the path of truth).

Although the state government maintained that the shrine was private property, it also mentioned a resolution passed by the trust in 2010, when it was decided that for any developmental work, the trust would take permission from the district collector. In January this year, the Hindu trustees carried out various developmental works including erecting a wall.

Wall replaces barbed wire that segregates people

The Muslim residents of Pirana protested against the construction of the wall, in the place of a barbed wire fencing that had first appeared in 2003 following a clash between the Hindu and Muslim trustees of the Sufi shrine.

The fencing segregated the entire campus into two parts controlled by Hindus and Muslim followers. The Muslim trustees have been alleging that decisions were taken without considering their objections.

Explaining the January incident of wall construction, the government’s affidavit stated: “The trust in a meeting dated January 25, 2022, passed a resolution for carrying out renovation activity in order to protect the sanctity of the holy shrine. The said resolution was sent by the trust to Mamlatdar for grant of permission.”

The affidavit explained that the mamlatdar, after an apt inquiry, had a favourable opinion on the proposed development activities that were to be carried out at the holy shrine. “Mamlatdar sent the proposal to the sub divisional magistrate who sent it to the collector. The collector granted the permission,” the affidavit stated.