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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has refused a plea by Dargah Hazrat Mulla Syed seeking to bring the mortal remains of a Sufi saint to India, who died in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Sufi saint Hazrat Shah Muhammad Abdul Muqtadir Shah Masood Ahmad had died in 2022.

A CJI Chandrachud led bench was informed that the saint, who was born in Prayagraj, had later migrated to Pakistan and was given a Pakistani citizenship.

"He is a Pakistani citizen, how can you expect the Union of India to bring his burials in India?" the bench also comprising Justices Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked.

Moreover, noting that the soul had departed in 2022, Justice Pardiwala also flagged the issue of exhumation.

Court was informed by the counsel before it that the Hazrat had executed a will in 2021 expressing his wish to be buried at the shrine in Prayagraj of which he was elected as the Sajjada Nasheen (spiritual head).

"There are difficulties in entertaining such a petition. As a matter of first principle, it would not be right for this court to direct the transportation of the mortal remains of a citizen of a foreign state to India," the bench noted in its order.

Case Title: Dargah Hazrat Mulla Syed vs. UOI