Harun Nasrullah
India’s Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to a challenge against the demolition of a mosque in Saharanpur and stayed recovery of a ₹6.41 crore (£5.4 million) damages order imposed on its management.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on September 11 directed the state government to file its response within three weeks and listed the case for October 12. The court also stayed recovery of the ₹6.41 crore damages until the next hearing.
The mosque, inside the Saharanpur district administrative complex, was demolished on September 5 after a district judge on September 2 dismissed an appeal against an earlier eviction order concerning the structure, which authorities said stood on government-owned land.
The petition, filed by advocate Mohammed Tanveer Ahmad under Article 227 of the Constitution, challenges orders issued by the Saharanpur city magistrate on July 16 and the district judge on September 2. It argues that the proceedings were conducted without proper jurisdiction or legal authority.
The city magistrate had ordered eviction of the 315-square-metre mosque under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act and imposed ₹6.41 crore in damages for alleged unlawful occupation and use of the site.
The mosque management argues that the eviction order did not authorise its demolition. Mosque custodian Tanveer Ahmed said the demolition had been carried out “without due process”.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Subodh Kumar defended the action, saying: “Legal process has been fully followed. Proper notice was served, and the stipulated notice period was fully adhered to.”
The mosque management has described the building as nearly 150 years old. In the High Court, the petitioner claimed that Yaqub Khan and Wahid Khan were the original owners of the land and that it had been used as waqf. The state government disputed this, saying the property was recorded as belonging to the collectorate and that no waqf deed had been produced.
The demolition prompted political criticism, including from Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan, who said she was placed under house arrest at her home in Kairana after announcing plans to travel to Saharanpur. Congress MP Imran Masood, who represents Saharanpur, described the demolition as “a black day” for the city.
The controversy intensified the following day when workers clearing the site discovered a well beneath the rubble. The well was reported to be about 20 feet (six metres) deep.
India’s Archaeological Survey of India subsequently examined the site and collected samples to investigate the well’s age and possible historical significance. Its discovery, however, does not establish the age of the mosque or prove any particular history of the site.
The demolition has also drawn attention to other Muslim places of worship in western Uttar Pradesh. The Indian Express reported that a mosque in Moradabad had been asked to produce documents relating to its construction, while the ASI is investigating another mosque in Sambhal.
No demolition has been announced at either site.
