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Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the Haji Waris Ali Shah Mouselum Trust, which runs the religious place Deva Sharif of Barabanki, the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court has asked the petitioner to file an application in this matter before the District Judge.

The petition was filed by one Mohammad Faiyaz seeking the formation of a high-level committee to look into the affairs of the Haji Waris Ali Shah Mouselum Trust. Apart from the formation of the committee, the petitioner had also demanded that the assets of the trust, offerings and donations are required to be counted and proper arrangements be made for visitors.

The Bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Jaspreet Singh observed that the petitioner had the remedy to file a proper application before the District Judge concerned under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for examining the issue, however, he had not approached the concerned District Judge yet.

Placing reliance on Mrinalini Padhi v. Union of Indian and others (2018), the court said that in such issues, if the District Judge finds it necessary and sends his report to the High Court, then only the High Court will consider those aspects in public interest in accordance with law.

The State counsel had raised a preliminary objection regarding the maintainability of the petition but the petitioner had referred to Mrinalini Padhi case to state that such an issue can be examined in public interest litigation.

During the hearing, the fact came before the court that the Supreme Court had said in Mrinalini Padhi that in such cases an application can be filed before the District Judge under Section 92 of the CPC. After examining the points raised in the application, the District Judge can send his report to the High Court, which can be heard by the High Court in the form of a public interest litigation. After which the division bench directed the petitioner to present the application before the district judge.

Each year, a mega fair is organised at Dewa Sharif, namely 'Dewa fair'. During this 10-day-long fest, apart from the cultural functions, a grand cattle market also gets set up, where various species of buffalos, cows and horses are displayed and sold. 

The shrine of Haji Waris Ali Shah attracts pilgrims of all religions throughout the year. However, during Dewa fair, this crowd is such that keeping an estimate of the number of visitors becomes a challenging task for the authorities.

Cause Title: Mohammad Faiyaz vs State of U.P. and others