Bombay HC Allows Bakri Eid Animal Slaughter At Dargah Inside Protected Vishalgad Fort
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday, June 2025, permitted animal slaughter for Eid al-Adha (Bakri Eid) and Urs festival at the Hazrat Peer Malik Rehan Dargah, situated inside Vishalgad Fort in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, subject to strict compliance with previously laid conditions.
A vacation bench of Justices Neela K. Gokhale and Firdosh P. Pooniwalla was dealing with an interim application filed by Hazrat Peer Malik Rehan Dargah Trust seeking permission for animal slaughter for Bakri Eid on June 7 and the four-day Urs from June 8 to 12 at the dargah at Vishalgad Fort.
In its interim application, the dargah trust had challenged several communications from the Director of Archaeology and Museums, the Superintendent of Police, Kolhapur, and the CEO of Kolhapur Zilla Parishad, which sought to ban animal slaughter at the site.
The said authorities had sought a prohibition on animal slaughter while citing the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1962, which prohibit cooking and consumption of food.
The authorities asserted that the dargah was a protected monument as it lies within the historically significant 11th-century Vishalgad Fort.
On the other hand, it was the trust's case that the slaughter took place on private land nearly 1.4 km away from the fort and not inside the monument itself. Therefore, the mentioned rules are not being violated.
After weighing the contentions of both sides, the court permitted the sacrifice to take place on June 7, 2025 (Bakri Eid) and during the Urs festival scheduled between June 8 and 12, 2025. Recalling its June 14, 2024, order, the court said that it had allowed animal slaughter during Bakri Eid and Urs at the said dargah.
While disposing of the trust's interim application, the court clarified that the slaughter must only be carried out on 'private property' and not in any 'open or public space'.