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HC seeks clarity on plan to demolish Lal Masjid
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday sought to know from the Centre and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) by Wednesday if they had plans to demolish the Lal Masjid, an ancient mosque situated on a disputed land near Lodhi Road in the national capital
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday sought to know from the Centre and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) by Wednesday if they had plans to demolish the Lal Masjid, an ancient mosque situated on a disputed land near Lodhi Road in the national capital.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, while hearing a plea by the Delhi Waqf Board challenging the demolition order of the ancient mosque alongside the Link Road in Aliganj village, adjourned the matter to Wednesday after the counsel for the Centre sought time to take instructions.
The judge said that he is ready to give as much time as possible but the status should not change.
“I will give you as much time as you want, but don’t change the status. We will have it tomorrow, but you should not come tomorrow and say, ‘Sorry, we have demolished the building’. I will then haul up your officials for contempt,” the court remarked during the hearing.
The plea filed through advocate Wajeeh Shafiq, for the Waqf Board, has said that the authorities have asked them to vacate the mosque for its demolition even though the land dispute is pending in the Waqf Tribunal.
The petition has also said that the land in question has been occupied for the graveyard and Lal Masjid “since time immemorial”. However, in 2017, the land of the graveyard was taken by the authorities, a dispute which is pending adjudication in the Waqf Tribunal.
On Tuesday, appearing for the board, senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose, told the court that the land dispute has been pending since 2017 and has still not been decided because of various problems with the Waqf Tribunal, including the Tribunal stopping work twice due to problems in its constitution.
Senior advocate Ghose also said that even though the Tribunal was made functional and appointments were made after court orders, it again stopped operations since December 2020, due to problems in its constitution and a vacancy of two members.
He said that the authorities are taking advantage of this situation and on March 31, the SHO of Basti Nizamuddin police station visited the mosque and allegedly said that it will be demolished to use the area for the CRPF canteen, barracks for men and parking of CRPF vehicles, among others. He also allegedly asked the Imam to vacate the mosque.
Ghose sought that the Tribunal be constituted and the matter be decided before taking any untoward step.
The Delhi government, represented by advocate Jawahar Raja, told the court that the appointment of the members in the Waqf Tribunal will be completed within four weeks. The court took the statement on record and posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.
