Shimla: Sessions Court stays Sanjauli mosque demolition orders

A Sessions Court today stayed the orders passed by the Municipal Commissioner’s Court on May 3 to demolish a mosque located at Sanjauli in Shimla. The court also sought a reply from the Municipal Corporation, Shimla, and fixed the next hearing in the case on May 29.

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The court of Additional District Judge Yujvinder Singh, during a hearing in the case, accepted the petition filed by the Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board, in which it had appealed for stay on the demolition orders. Besides, the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti also voluntarily withdrew its caveat petition, as the court was about to dismiss it.

Waqf Board officer-bearer Qutubuddin said that at least 70 per cent of the work to demolish the mosque was completed after the orders to demolish its top three floors were issued last year. The case of the mosque that was being heard since 2010 came to light in September last year when a fight between two groups led to the demand that the mosque be razed. People associated with Hindu outfits held protests and demanded the complete demolition of the mosque. The Municipal Commissioner’s Court had on October 5, 2024, directed the Sanjauli Mosque Committee and the state Waqf Board to demolish the top three floors of the mosque after they were declared illegal. On May 3, the Commissioner’s Court had directed the Mosque Committee and the Waqf Board to demolish the remaining two floors of the mosque as well since they could not provide the revenue records and the ownership papers of the land on which it had been constructed.

Recently, several people associated with Hindu outfits had held a protest over allowing Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ in the mosque and had warned of a mass movement if this practice was not stopped.