The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Wednesday, June 28, declined to ban the offering of prayers at Sikandar Badushah Dargah situated in Nellithope, Thiruparankundram of Madurai district.
The dargah, which is located on the same Thiruparankundram hill as the Kashi Vishwanath temple, was the subject of a petition filed by one Ramalingam from Thirupparankundram at the High Court’s Madurai bench. This dargah holds the tomb of the Islamic saint Sultan Sikandar Badushah Shaheed who is said to have visited Madurai during the 12th century.
The petitioner argued that the prayers conducted at the dargah during the month of Ramzan caused disturbance to the devotees visiting the temple. Consequently, the petition sought a ban on prayer offerings at the dargah.
On Wednesday morning, Justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gauri heard the petition. The court determined that the prayers conducted for half an hour in the dargah would not disturb anyone. Furthermore, considering the upcoming celebration of Bakrid, the court stated that it could not prohibit the offering of prayers at the dargah located on the hill. The court emphasised, "In a secular country, the court cannot ban the offering of prayer" and thus dismissed Ramalingam's petition.
The court, after adjourning the hearing for four weeks, instructed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to submit a detailed report on the subject matter of the petition.