The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an application seeking permission to conduct an Urs at the site of the Pir Haji Shah Mangroli dargah in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath between February 1 and February 3, Live Law reported.

The dargah was among several Muslim religious sites and residences that were allegedly illegally demolished in Gir Somnath district in September.

In Islam, Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint. It is typically conducted at the saint’s dargah, which is a shrine or tomb.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih dismissed the request for conducting the Urs on the grounds that it could not be granted without hearing the “main matter”.

The bench was referring to a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against a Gujarat High Court order from October 3 that refused to stay the demolitions in Gir Somnath.

On September 28, the district authorities demolished nine mosques and shrines in addition to several homes in the Prabhas Patan area near the Somnath temple, allegedly on the pretext of removing encroachments from government land.

Subsequently, a contempt petition was filed by the Summast Patni Muslim Jamat, which represents the Patni Muslim community in Prabhas Patan, claiming that the district authorities had illegally bulldozed the Muslim religious sites and residences.

On October 4, the Supreme Court refused to stay the demolition drive. It also sought a response to the contempt petition.

During the hearing on the interlocutory application on Friday, Senior Advocate IH Syed, for the petitioner, said that the authorities had denied permission for the Urs after claiming that there was no dargah at the site.

However, the dargah was an ancient protected monument and the Urs had been conducted at the site for several years, Syed added.

In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, told the bench that the structures allegedly encroaching on public land, including the temples, were demolished legally after following due process, Live Law reported.

Mehta claimed that there was no element of religious discrimination in the demolitions. He also claimed that there was no protected monument at the site, citing an affidavit filed by the Department of Archaeology in the case.

No religious activities, including Hindu rituals, were allowed on the land in question, the solicitor general added.

The interlocutory application, filed through the mujawar of the Pir Haji Mangroli Shah dargah, said that thousands of devotees visited the site every year during the Urs, Live Law reported. A mujawar is a caretaker or attendant of a Muslim shrine.

The application added that the authorities had always granted permission for the religious event in the past. Permission was sought this year as well from the police. However, the district collector issued a notification prohibiting the entry of persons onto the premises of the dargah, it said.