JAMMU: The agitation against the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board’s decision on admissions to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence intensified on Tuesday after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association extended its full moral and legal backing to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti.
Bar Association President Advocate Nirmal Kotwal accused the Shrine Board of “commercializing” a sacred institution and warned that increasing service costs were pushing ordinary pilgrims away. He asserted that the legal fraternity would stand with the Samiti in its efforts to overturn the contested decision, stating that public faith cannot be reduced to a commercial venture.
Earlier, the Samiti delegation led by Convenor Col Sukhvir Singh Mankotia and Sanatan Dharm Sabha President Parshotam Dadhichi visited the historic Shiv Mandir inside the High Court complex. The temple, recently restored by members of the Bar, served as the venue for prayers before the meeting, lending a symbolic show of unity to the day’s proceedings.
Mankotia said the Bar’s support had strengthened their resolve to continue the campaign until the Shrine Board review is forced through public and legal pressure. Dadhichi described the backing as an assertion of community rights and religious dignity.
The meeting was attended by Bar Association Vice President Advocate Baldev Singh, General Secretary Advocate Pardeep Majotra, Joint Secretary Advocate Anshu Mahajan, Treasurer Advocate Rahul Aggarwal and several others who reaffirmed their stance.
The Sangharsh Samiti has been actively mobilising civil society and religious bodies, arguing that the Shrine Board’s approach undermines traditional involvement of the local community in matters of faith and public access. With legal support now in place, the dispute appears set to escalate both in public forums and inside the courtrooms.
