Overview

• The Bombay High Court’s vacation bench permitted Bakri Eid sacrifices on June 7 and a four-day Urs festival from June 8 to 12 at the dargah within Vishalgad Fort in Kolhapur.
• Judges mandated that all animal slaughters take place in an enclosed private plot at Gate No. 19 owned by Mubarak Usman Mujawar, with no public-area sacrifices allowed.
• The ruling relied on a coordinate bench’s June 14, 2024 order, ensuring continuity of an age-old religious practice despite years of administrative uncertainty.
• Hazrat Peer Malik Rehan Dargah Trust argued that sacrifices have long been conducted 1.4 km from the fort and that donated meat feeds pilgrims and local villagers.
• The bench criticized authorities for failing to act on the trust’s application and emphasized strict compliance with the court’s conditions to safeguard the protected monument.