The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear a petition challenging the discretion of the Ujjain district collector to allow VIPs to enter the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple saying that these were matters beyond the court and its jurisdiction.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant and other justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi pointed out that courts were not able to dictate who had the right and who had not the right to enter into a temple. Arguing about the justiciability of the plea, the bench gave the petitioner an opportunity to recede the case on a hearing of a limited duration, leaving the petitioner to go to the relevant authorities in a formal representation instead.
At the court hearing, the bench stated that no person would identify him or herself as a VIP in the presence of Mahakaal and also warned against the courts meddling with matters pertaining to the management of the temples. The judges restated that the matter of policies in accessing temples does not require review by constitutional courts.
It was a petition of Ujjain resident Darpan Awasthi with arguments by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain who questioned why certain people should be given special access to perform rituals in the sanctum when common devotees cannot be granted the same. An order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated August 28, 2025, dismissing a public interest litigation on the matter, was also challenged in the plea.
Jain argued that there are no standardized regulations to regulate access to the garbhagriha and this causes arbitrary and discriminatory processes. He said that preferential treatment on the basis of recommendation by people in the position of power contravened Article 14 of the Constitution which affirms that there should be equality before the law.
Stressing on treating the people who worship the same way Jain offered to have the law that special privileges be given to devotees then the common worshippers should receive such privileges too to enter the sanctum and worship the deity.
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