Syed Gulzar Hussain & Others Vs. Dewan Syed Ale Rasul Ali Khan & Others
Holy Shrines – Sharing of Nazrana offered by the pilgrims
Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 36921 of 2013 with Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 36923 of 2013 and Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.36953 of 2013-Decided on 20-2-2014.
We are, in these cases, primarily concerned with the resolution of a dispute between the Dewan Sajjadanashin and Khadims of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer with regard to the sharing of Nazrana offered by the pilgrims visiting the Holy Shrine. …. the High Court thought of making some suitable arrangements for the purpose of implementing the decree. The following are the directions given by the High Court…. We may indicate that a pilgrim who goes to the Durgah and make donation, may be totally unaware as to how the donation is being divided between Khadims and Dewan. Normally, a pilgrim who makes an offering or makes any donation, expects the same to go to the Holy Shrine and its development and maintenance, not for the individual benefit of either the Khadim or Dewan. A pilgrim may give some amount directly either to Dewan or Khadim for his satisfaction if they are offering a special prayer on his behalf, which is altogether a different aspect. Necessity of proper accounting and transparency in the entire functioning of Durgah is highly necessary in the larger public interest with regard to entire amount received at the Shrine, whether it is inside or outside the dome or even the amount directly paid to the Khadims at the Shrine. Khadims, it is stated, have to share also with the Dewan the amounts they get, hence there is a necessity of the intervention of the Durgah Committee for the smooth and effective functioning of the Shrine, or else, constant disputes may crop up between both the groups, which is not in the best interest of the Holy Shrine...read more
