Bombay High Court permits animal sacrifice for Bakrid, Urs at Vishalgad Dargah

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed the sacrifice of animals on Bakrid and during the Urs (anniversary) celebrations at a Dargah located within the precincts of Vishalgad Fort in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. [Hajrat Peer Malik Rehan Mira Saheb Dargah v. State of Maharashtra & Ors]..The permission extends not only to the Dargah Trust but also to devotees participating in the religious observances.A Division Bench of Justices Neela Gokhale and Firdosh Pooniwalla passed the order while hearing a plea filed by the Hajrat Peer Malik Rehan Mira Saheb Dargah, a registered trust, challenging a directive issued by the Deputy Director of Archaeology that prohibited animal slaughter within the fort’s premises.The Court observed that a similar plea had been allowed in June 2024. It, therefore, allowed the present application as well on the same terms. “Considering fact that coordinate bench of this court in order dated June 14, 2024 has already dealt with the issue and had permitted prayer a of present IA, the same shall continue for festival of bakr eid, which is on June 7 and the Urs for four days from June 8 to 12,” the order stated. It added that all conditions imposed in the June 2024 order would apply to both the petitioners and devotees..In order passed last year, the High Court had stipulated that any sacrifice must occur only in a closed and private area - specifically Gate No. 19, which is privately owned by Shri Mubarak Usman Mujawar - and not in open or public spaces.The Dargah Trust had initially approached the Court in 2023 after receiving a communication from the Deputy Director of Archaeology and Museums to the Kolhapur District Collector banning animal slaughter within the Vishalgad Fort area.The ban was reportedly based on provisions of the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act and a 1998 Aurangabad Bench judgment that prohibits public animal sacrifices.Advocate S B Talekar, appearing for the trust, submitted that local police had erected checkpoints and restricted access to the Dargah from 5 PM to 10 AM, which interfered with evening rituals central to the Urs..The Court has clarified that the permissions granted would apply to all devotees attending the Dargah during the festival, while reiterating that the June 2024 conditions must be strictly followed."Needless to state, the same conditions, which have been imposed in June 14, 2024 order shall apply to the petitioners in the present IA. Also applies to devotees of Dargah who come to sacrifice during Bakri eid and Urs. We also make it clear that conditions imposed in June 14 order shall be strictly complied with," the order read.The trust, in its petition, had argued that animal sacrifice is an age-old tradition conducted behind closed doors on private land, 1.4 kilometers from the fort.The offerings, they said, are served to pilgrims and to villagers living around the fort, forming an essential part of the local religious and cultural fabric.