Sunehri Bagh case: Delhi high court to hear arguments on January 19

The Imam, in the plea listed before a bench of justice Sachin Datta, sought to restrain NDMC from “harming the mosque”

The Delhi high court on Thursday said it will hear arguments on January 19 on the plea filed by the Imam of Sunehri Bagh Masjid, Abdul Aziz, challenging the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) notice seeking public opinion for the demolition of the 150- year-old mosque due to ostensible traffic congestion in the area.

Sunehri Bagh Masjid on Motilal Nehru Marg in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

The December 24 notice, published in newspapers, led to protests and devotees said that the council was raising the issue of traffic congestion just to demolish the structure.

The Imam, in the plea listed before a bench of justice Sachin Datta, sought to restrain NDMC from “harming the mosque”. It said that the “notice was issued with mala fide intentions, without any application of the mind and that the structure was being targeted without any research, data, statistic, demonstration to show that there was any traffic congestion due to its existence”.

“Various government buildings... blended harmoniously with the Sunehri Bagh Masjid and thus due to these offices, the movement of vehicles started in the area which… these government offices have contributed to the traffic, if any, in that area and not because of Sunehri Bagh Masjid as theorized by NDMC/Traffic Police,” read the petition.

The high court’s vacation bench in December questioned the Imam’s locus and listed the petition for January following an assurance by NDMC that no action would be taken in the meantime, as the final call will have to be taken by the Heritage Conservation Committee, which has to be reconstituted.

On Thursday, the Imam appearing through advocate Suaib Ahmed Khan, submitted that he was not seeking any precipitative order but was questioning NDMC’s power to remove the heritage structure.

NDMC, appearing through additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma and advocate Shriharsha Peechara, raised objections regarding the issuance of notice and maintainability of the petition. Delhi Police, appearing through advocate Sanjay Jain, submitted that the petition was premature as it was predicated on NDMC’s December 24 notice.