Telangana HC Declines Interim Order on Vemulawada Dargah Relocation Amid Temple Renovation

The A-G submitted: “Not only the Dargah Hazrath Syed Tajuddin Khaja Bagh Sawar, but also other Hindu religious structures viz., Kotilingala Anjaneya swamy etc., were shifted to another bigger and safer place, which is a part of renovation work of the temple taken up by the government.”

Vemulawada was peaceful and any action would disturb and needlessly make the town a centre communal disharmony, A-G Sudershan Reddy submitted to the High Court in a writ petition filed by Mohammed Nazima, a homemaker from Vemulawada, questioning the barricading of the dargah, thereby preventing devotees performing religious rituals .

Justice B. Vijayasen Reddy recorded the statement of the Advocate General that the dargah had since been shifted and refused to grant interim orders in the writ petition.

Senior counsel L. Ravichander said that it was the admitted case of the petitioner that the dargah had been shifted and therefore there should be no interim order unless the court came to a final conclusion that it illegal. Regula Rajkumar, a resident of Vemulawada, had filed an implead application in the writ petition, detailing the history of the temple and how the government had allotted `76 crore for development work and providing better amenities on the temple premises. Senior counsel also pointed to photographic evidence of the new premises for housing the dargah.

Zeeshan, counsel for the petitioner, contended that the mutawalli’s approval was not valid and insisted upon the court to protect the place from where the dargah had been shifted. The court declined and said, “Let us have respect to the A-G’s statement… this court knows how to protect religious places and fundamental rights… one should not have any apprehensions over this issue.” However, the court granted two weeks for all parties to file their response.