The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition filed by the management of a dargah in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district seeking directions to restrain rituals related to the Hindu festival of Mahashivratri at the shrine’s premises, Bar and Bench reported.

This year, Mahashivratri will be celebrated on Sunday.

The Aland Ladle Mashaik Dargah is associated with 14th-century Sufi saint Hazrat Shaikh Alauddin Ansari, also known as Ladle Mashaik, and 15th-century Hindu saint Raghava Chaitanya, whose remains lie at the site. A structure referred to as the Raghava Chaitanya Shivling is also located within the premises, The Hindu reported.

Both Muslims and Hindus have historically offered prayers at the site. However, communal tensions erupted in 2022 regarding worship rights.

In February 2025, the Karnataka High Court permitted 15 members of the Hindu community to conduct Shivaratri prayers at the Raghava Chaitanya Shivling amid heavy security. A similar arrangement was reportedly made in 2024, when 15 Hindu persons were allowed to enter the premises and perform rituals without any untoward incident occurring, Bar and Bench reported.

In its plea, the dargah management has contended that although the property has been declared a Waqf property by the Waqf Tribunal, third parties have repeatedly filed petitions before the High Court seeking permission to conduct prayers on specific occasions, Live Law reported. It said that the High Court has been granting permission for temporary arrangements from time to time, including for the upcoming Mahashivratri festival.

The petitioners raised concern that there has been a strategic attempt by Hindu groups to change the religious character of the shrine by securing interim court orders for Shivratri prayers.

“The pattern is unmistakable and deeply troubling,” Bar and Bench quoted the petition as having said. “What cannot be proved through evidence and adjudication is sought to be manufactured through interim orders sought from the High Court.”

The petition added: “What is barred by the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act, 1991 is sought to be achieved through police-facilitated entry during festivals.”

The Act does not allow any changes to the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.

The management of the Aland Ladle Mashaik Dargah had approached the court under Article 32 of the Constitution, which allows persons to directly move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights.

On Thursday, advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the High Court had already decided related matters and that the petitioner was constrained to approach the Supreme Court, Live Law reported.

However, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and SC Sharma noted that an Article 32 petition was not appropriate in the matter.

“Unless it’s a pan-India issue, [no]...You get the dismissal thereafter we will consider,” Live Law quoted Datta as saying. “This is no way of entertaining Article 32 [petition].”

The plea was then withdrawn.