Desai to march into Haji Ali, AIMIM threatens to smear black ink

April 28, 2016

Mumbai, Apr 28: After scoring victory for women's right to enter Shani Shingnapur and Trimbakeshwar temples, Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai will today try to enter the core area of Haji Ali Dargah in the city where women are not allowed.

A local AIMIM leader said they would not allow Desai to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the renowned Dargah and threatened to smear her face with black ink if she does so.

"We will hold a peaceful march for women's rights at Haji Ali dargah today, pray there and later decide the future course of action," Desai told reporters here.

"I think (Bollywood actors) Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan too should lend us support for our cause as that will only help us in our fight for equality," she said.

However, AIMIM leader Haji Rafat Husain said entering a graveyard is "haram" (forbidden) in Islam, and added that his party supporters will not under any circumstance let Desai enter the shrine's sanctum sanctorum.

Husain also threatened to smear Desai's face with black ink, even if he gets arrested for it."Women are barred from entering graveyards and shrines. She cannot be allowed to play with Islamic traditions for cheap publicity gimmicks. Our women volunteers will be at the shrine to prevent her entry there," Husain told PTI.

"But, if she and her supporters forcefully try to enter the sanctum sanctorum, I will myself paint her face with black ink even if I have to face arrest for the act," he said.

Last week, Shiv Sena leader Haji Arafat Shaikh had said Desai would be hit with "slippers" if she tried to enter the Haji Ali Dargah.

However, after his remarks created a furore in various circles, Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe rejected Shaikh's statement and even warned of action against him.

Desai had recently led a successful campaign for women's entry into the temples like Shani Shignapur in Ahmednagar district and Trimbakeshwar in Nashik.

The Maharashtra government had in February this year favoured the entry of women into the Haji Ali Dargah.

The state government had then said before the Bombay High Court that unless the Dargah Board is able to prove that ban is part of their religious practice with reference to Quran, women should be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali.

The Dargah Board had said that the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah houses the grave of a male saint and in Islam it is sin for women to touch a male saint, and hence, women are barred from touching the tomb.

Comments

First of all there is no place for Dargah or Saint in Islam. if its not belong to Islam no question arise its legal or illegal. Ms Desai you are welcome to enjoy evening at Dargah premises. You are also welcome at Madani Dargah with its sister concerns around the DK.

HaHaHaHaHaHaHa....................................

Dear Brothers & Sisters...

Here some politicians have given reference of Quran about women entry sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali...

First of all being Muslim, i would like to clear all Muslim & non muslims that going to Dargah & praying there itself HARAM. The place where shrine (Khabar) available prayers are not accepted. Some people made dargah as their income source & making fun of Islam.

Being true Muslims everyone should try to destroy this dargah & save our ummha from making shirk..

Person can visit to shrine & pray for those who died. Main purpose of visit to shrines (Khabrastan) is to remember his death.

\Every soul has to taste death\""

Dear sisters why you want to go to dargah, come to masjid its always open for each and every one, in islam there is equality to everyone, but this is dargah created by man not from allah, so if you want equality read quran and hadeeth you will get equality and respect both.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

Comments