Archive · 12 Sep 2026
Ousted Hazratbal Imam Challenges Continued Exclusion Before High Court
Dr Kamal ud din Farooqui used to be the imam at the Hazratbal shrine.
He was removed from the position in April 2024.
The removal followed an incident involving Sandeep Kumar, a Hindu man from Haryana.
Officials investigated whether Kumar had been forced to convert to Islam.
Videos showed Kumar saying that he was converting willingly.
He also reportedly gave the same explanation to police.
Farooqui has now asked the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court to let him return.
His petition says he was kept away from the shrine after the Waqf Board’s order.
The court has not yet set a date for the first hearing.
Dr Kamal ud din Farooqui challenged his April 8, 2024 removal as Hazratbal’s imam before the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
The Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board removed him pending an inquiry into an alleged forced conversion at the shrine.
The incident involved Haryana resident Sandeep Kumar, who approached Farooqui seeking to convert to Islam.
Videos showed Kumar describing the conversion as voluntary, and he reportedly repeated that account to police.
Farooqui’s family has provided imams to Hazratbal for nearly three centuries, while the shrine attracts lakhs of devotees annually.
- Who
- Dr Kamal ud din Farooqui, the former Hazratbal imam, challenged his removal by the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board.
- What
- He is seeking to overturn his exclusion from Hazratbal and return as the shrine’s imam.
- When
- The removal order was issued on April 8, 2024, days after the April 5 conversion incident; the first hearing date has not been set.
- Where
- The case is before the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and concerns the Hazratbal shrine in Kashmir.
- Why
- The Waqf Board removed Farooqui pending an inquiry into an alleged forced conversion involving Sandeep Kumar.
Case for the Removal
Case Against Continued Exclusion
Nature of the conversion
Case for the Removal
The Waqf Board removed Farooqui pending an inquiry into an alleged forced conversion at Hazratbal.
Case Against Continued Exclusion
Videos showed Sandeep Kumar saying he was converting willingly, and he reportedly repeated that statement to police.
Farooqui’s return
Case for the Removal
The board’s order relieved him of his duties while the alleged conversion was investigated.
Case Against Continued Exclusion
Farooqui has challenged the order in the High Court and seeks to return to Kashmir’s holiest shrine.
- Petitioner
- Dr Kamal ud din Farooqui, former imam of Hazratbal
- Respondent action
- The Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board relieved Farooqui of his duties pending an inquiry.
- Removal order
- Issued by the Waqf Board executive magistrate, a tehsildar, on April 8, 2024
- Incident date
- April 5, 2024
- Person seeking conversion
- Sandeep Kumar, a Haryana resident working as a domestic help in Srinagar
- Conversion account
- Videos and Kumar’s reported statement to police described the conversion as voluntary.
- Shrine significance
- Hazratbal houses a relic attributed to Prophet Mohammad and receives lakhs of devotees annually.