Jaipur, Nov 29 (IANS) Ajmer Sharif Dargah Diwan Zainul Abedin said on Friday that they are well prepared with a legal reply to the plea after a court accepted the petition which claimed that “the famous Ajmer Sharif Dargah was originally a Shiva temple”.

“There are no substantial facts. We will answer it legally in the court. We also have a panel of advocates,” Abedin told media persons.

He also thanked the Supreme Court for the order regarding the Sambhal case.

“I appeal to the people that we should maintain peace and not do anything from our side which can create controversy. We have legal rights, we should go to the court,” he said.

A petition has been filed in Ajmer Civil Court West, claiming that the world-famous dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti located in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan was originally a Sankat Mochan Mahadev temple.

On Wednesday, November 27, the court accepted the petition and also issued notice to the concerned Ministry of Minority Affairs, Dargah Committee Ajmer and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and asked them to present their side.

The court will hold the next hearing in this case on December 20.

Meanwhile, Diwan Zainul Abedin said that the history of the Dargah is 800 years old and at that time it was a kachha ground.

“At the time of Garib Nawaz, this place used to be an unpaved ground. The grave was inside it. The place where the grave is will obviously have been unpaved. For 150 years, the tomb remained unpaved, there was no concrete construction at all. How can a temple come under it,” said Abedin.

He added that the Place of Worship Act 1991 is clear, adding that on 15 August 1947, orders were given to keep all the religious places in India as they are.

“If there is a case against a government body, then a notice has to be given before that, but no notice was given to us. Also, the descendants of Khwaja Saheb were not made a party,” he said.

The Dargah Diwan said that Khwaja Hussain Nagori, the grandson of the Badhshah of Malwa, had built the dome and Jannati Darwaza of Khwaja Saheb with money he received as a prize.

Further, Anjuman Dargah Committee Secretary Sarwar Chishti also said that the dargah of Khwaja Garib Nawaz is a spiritual place.

“The Places of Worship Act should be applicable everywhere. Everyone comes and files a case against any religious place which is not right,” he said.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS