Supreme Court dismisses Mahakal Temple VIP Darshan plea:High Court order upheld, granting Ujjain Collector authority to decide who qualifies for entry into sanctum sanctorum

The Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the practice of granting VIP entry to the sanctum sanctorum of the Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on Tuesday.
The Top court refused to interfere with the earlier High Court Indore bench ruling, thereby upholding the decision that empowers the Ujjain district collector to determine who qualifies as a VIP for sanctum entry. Apex court upholds High Court decision The matter had earlier been heard by the Indore High Court. During Tuesday’s hearing, the Supreme Court declined to entertain the plea and advised the petitioner to approach the High Court, effectively letting the High Court’s order stand. As a result, the Mahakal Temple Committee will continue to follow the directive that grants the collector authority over sanctum access decisions. Petition alleged discrimination against common devotees The petition was filed by Indore-based advocates Charchit Shastri and Darpan Awasthi after entry to the sanctum was barred for general devotees. The plea argued that while lakhs of devotees from across the country are forced to offer prayers from outside the sanctum, politicians and influential individuals continue to gain easy access inside for rituals and worship. Collector to decide sanctum entry About six months ago, while hearing a similar petition, the Indore High Court had clearly stated that the Ujjain Collector has the authority to decide who is permitted entry into the sanctum. The court observed that if the collector grants permission to an individual on a particular day, that person would be treated as a VIP for that occasion. Sanctum closed for over two years The sanctum of the Mahakaleshwar Temple has remained closed to the general public since July 4, 2023, when it was shut due to heavy crowds during the month of Shravan. At the time, the temple committee had announced that the sanctum would reopen for devotees after Shravan ended on September 11, 2023. However, more than a year later, the sanctum remains closed. Before the inauguration of Mahakal Lok in October 2022, the temple received around 20,000–30,000 devotees daily. After Mahakal Lok opened, the number surged nearly fourfold to 1.5–2 lakh devotees per day, making crowd management a major concern. MP, Mayor also demand reopening Prior to July 4, 2023, devotees were allowed to perform abhishek and rituals inside the sanctum by paying a ₹1,500 fee. Currently, devotees are offered darshan only from the Ganesh Mandap, Kartikeya Mandap, and Nandi Hall, with no access to the sanctum. Ujjain MP Anil Firojiya has also demanded that the sanctum be reopened for general devotees. He wrote to the authorities and publicly urged Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to intervene. About two weeks ago, the Ujjain Mayor too raised questions over the existing darshan व्यवस्था and called for allowing common devotees entry into the sanctum.