The Bombay High Court has given permission for animal slaughter at Vishalgadh Fort in Kolhapur district during the upcoming Muslim festivals. This animal slaughter will be done at the disputed dargah inside the fort. This permission has been given in view of the upcoming Muslim festivals of Bakrid and Urs, that will be celebrated at this dargah.
Meanwhile, Hindus have been constantly raising the matter of illegal Muslim encroachments inside this fort with 156 illegal encroachments, mostly around this dargah. The area where the Dargah was located earlier was quite small which has now been expanded to more than a thousand square feet. The Hindu community protestors say that the expansion of the Masjid behind the Dragah has been undertaken without the state’s permission, hence illegal.
This order was given by a bench of Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale and Firdos Pooniwala on Tuesday (June 03, 2025). The bench said, “It is to be noted that in an order issued on June 14, 2024, permission was given to sacrifice animals and birds in ‘a closed and private area’ near the dargah, not in any ‘open or public place’.”
The court said that the order, like last year, will be applicable this year as well. This year as well, animals can be sacrificed inside the fort on the festival of Bakrid on June 07 and during Urs from June 08 to June 12. The court said that sacrifice should not be done in a public place outside the fort.
The dargah had challenged the government’s ban on animal slaughter
In the year 2023, Hazrat Peer Malik Rehan Mira Saheb Dargah Trust of Vishalgadh had filed a petition in the court. The trust had challenged the ban on animal slaughter imposed by various departments of the state government, Directorate of Archaeology, Kolhapur Superintendent of Police and Chief Executive Officer of the Zila Parishad.
The administration had said that Vishalgadh Fort is a protected monument and according to the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeology Act 1962, cooking and serving food is also prohibited at such sites. The administration had called the slaughter of animals a violation of this rule.
At the same time, Muslims were opposing the ban. They claimed that the place of sacrifice is not inside the Dargah premises, but on a private land about 1.4 km away from it.
Inside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s fort, 100+ illegal encroachments
Vishalgadh Fort is about 1000 years old. This fort is an integral part of the heroic life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Muslim community has made illegal encroachments in the fort. The temples inside the fort have been left in a dilapidated state. Currently there are 20 to 24 Hindu temples here, but they are in a very bad condition.
According to official documents, there are 156 structures inside the Vishalgadh Fort, which have been built illegally. More than 100 of these belong to the Muslim community. Encroachment has been done here using iron sheets and cordoning off an area.
