MP High Court Junks PIL For Access To Religious Sites In Khandwa District Hospital

The Madhya Pradesh Excessive Courtroom on Wednesday (July 02) dismissed a public curiosity litigation searching for instructions to the Authorities District Hospital in Khandwa to permit open entry to most people to go to Hazrat Syed Chand Shah Wali Mazad and a Shiv Temple, that are located inside the hospital premises.

The division bench of Appearing Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf noticed that just one gate was closed and that most people was free to go to the spiritual websites utilizing the alternate route offered by the hospital administration.

“Come from the opposite route. Why ought to they open the hospital to the general public? It’s performed for the protection and safety of the hospital. Your method to the temple and mazar is just not blocked; if you wish to go to the spiritual locations, use the opposite gate. Your entry is just not blocked; you’ll simply have to make use of the longer route. You can not declare such averments merely as a result of that one gate, which is open, is inconvenient“

The petitioner, represented by Advocate Nitin Jain, submitted that till December 2024, all gates of the hospital remained open to most people, enabling entry to those spiritual websites. Nonetheless, the petitioner asserted that at current, just one gate remained open, requiring most people to cross by way of the hospital compound, thereby limiting their entry to those spiritual websites.

The plea averred that such ‘arbitrary closure’ of the primary gate of the general public street had brought about severe hardship and violated basic rights of devotees and customary residents, by compelling them to take the longer route.

The State, nevertheless, submitted that entry to the spiritual locations has not been blocked. It asserted that no such blockade had been imposed and clarified that solely one of many hospital gates had been closed.

Rejecting the petitioner’s argument that the general public was being unduly restricted from visiting the spiritual websites, the courtroom held:

“The land belongs to the hospital. Any particular person visiting the hospital might go to the spiritual web site positioned therein. The hospital is just not obligated to permit unrestricted public entry to its premises“.

The division bench noticed that the general public’s path to the temple and the Mazar has not been completely blocked. The courtroom additional famous: “Folks visiting the hospital inside the hospital premises can go to the spiritual websites. Anybody inside the hospital compound will have the ability to entry Mazar“.

Thus, the courtroom, whereas disposing of the petition, handed the next order:

“The petitioner has filed the current petition alleging that the respondent hospital has blocked entry to Hazrat Syed Chand Wali Mazad and a Shiv Temple, positioned inside the premises of the Authorities Hospital. Authorities Advocate showing for the State submitted that the entry had not been blocked and referred to paragraph 5 of the petition itself, which states that one gate had been closed, thereby requiring the general public to take an extended different route. It was submitted that entry to a spiritual place had not been prohibited or obstructed. The gate had been closed purely for safety and administrative functions. Entry to the temple and the Mazar stays open to most people. In view of the above statements, no additional instructions are warranted. The petition stands disposed of accordingly“.

For Petitioner: Advocates Nitin Jain, Shimla Jain, Akash Singhaim, Abhay Sohagaura, Manish Jain, Ashish Rawat and Ankita Agrawal

Case Title: Ayyub Lala v State of MP (WRIT PETITION (WP) 22263/2025)