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Sanjauli mosque: AHMO appeal dismissed, illegal structures to be demolished
The Shimla district court dismissed the petition filed by the All Himachal Muslim Organisation (AHMO), which challenged the October 5 order passed by the municipal commissioner’s court permitting the demolition of the three unauthorized floors of the mosque.
A local court in Shimla on Saturday dismissed an application challenging the municipal corporation commissioner’s order to demolish the illegal structures of the Sanjauli mosque.
The Shimla district court dismissed the petition filed by the All Himachal Muslim Organisation (AHMO), which challenged the October 5 order passed by the municipal commissioner’s court permitting the demolition of the three unauthorized floors of the mosque.
The petitioner’s counsel, Vishva Bhushan, maintained that the president of the Sanjauli mosque committee Latif Mohammad, who gave consent to the demolition, was not authorised to do so. “We will go through the order and further course of action will be decided then,” she said after the court dismissed the plea.
Protests erupted in September over the alleged illegal construction of the Sanjauli mosque. On September 11, at least 10 people, including six police personnel and four protestors, were injured after police resorted to baton charges and used water cannons when agitators broke the barricades and reached the vicinity of the mosque.
The municipal commissioner’s court, on October 5, allowed the razing of unauthorised floors and gave two months time to complete the demolition. The court ordered the mosque committee and the Waqf Board to bear the cost of the demolition of the unauthorised portion.
In compliance with the court order, the mosque committee had begun demolition of three unauthorised floors of Sanjauli Mosque in Shimla after getting a nod from the Waqf board. The mosque committee had given an undertaking to the municipal corporation commissioner offering to demolish the unauthorised portion of the mosque themselves.
The AHMO filed an appeal against the order on November 6, claiming that Latif Mohammad was not authorised to give any representation for the demolition of the illegal structures.
The court sought an affidavit from the Waqf Board stating in what capacity Latif Mohammad offered to demolish the three unauthorised floors of the disputed mosque. In response, the Waqf Board presented a document from 2006, which said that Latif Mohammad was nominated as president of the Sanjauli mosque committee.
Latif Mohammad also maintained, “I have been the president of the Sanjauli mosque committee since 2006 and the municipal commissioner’s court had also given notice to me in the capacity of president in September.”
