NEWS
Hindu devotees will worship the Shivalinga present in the Dargah on Mahashivratri, a major decision of the Karnataka High Court.
Karnataka High Court: The Dargah Committee had approached the Supreme Court, demanding that Hindu organizations not be allowed to perform the puja. However, the Chief Justice of India declined to hear the case in the Supreme Court.
Aland Dargah is located in Kalaburagi, Karnataka.
The Karnataka High Court delivered a significant ruling on Wednesday (February 11, 2026). The court granted permission to worship the Shivalinga at a dargah in Aland Town, Kalaburagi district, on Mahashivratri. Hearing a petition filed by Siddha Ramaiah Hiremath, the court, following last year's example, permitted a limited number of devotees to perform the puja on Sunday (February 15).
The Dargah Committee had approached the Supreme Court, demanding that Hindu organizations be denied permission to perform the puja. However, a bench headed by the Chief Justice declined to hear the case, stating that if every such case were to be heard directly in the Supreme Court, it would send the message that the country's High Courts had become irrelevant.
The Dargah Committee alleged in the petition.
In its petition, the Dargah Committee alleged that the interim orders were a deliberate attempt to alter the nature of religious sites. The dispute centered on the site associated with the 14th-century Sufi saint Hazrat Sheikh Alauddin Ansari (Ladle Mashaikh) and the 15th-century Hindu saint Raghav Chaitanya. The relics of both saints are said to reside within the same premises. A structure called the Raghav Chaitanya Shivalinga is also located there.
There was a controversy regarding worship in 2022.
It is said that both Hindu and Muslim communities previously worshipped at this site. However, tensions over worship rights escalated in 2022 when some anti-social elements allegedly desecrated the Shivalinga.
In February 2025, the High Court allowed 15 Hindu devotees to perform puja on Shivratri under tight security. The rituals were conducted peacefully. This year, the court has granted permission to a limited number of devotees to perform puja, in keeping with its previous order.
