Waqf Board ordered to demolish 2 'illegal' floors of Sanjauli mosque

The Shimla Municipal Commissioner’s Court today declared the remaining two floors of a mosque at Sanjauli as illegal and directed the Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board and the Sanjauli Mosque Committee to raze them. The decision was taken after the Waqf Board failed to present the revenue records of the mosque in the court. The Commissioner’s Court, during the previous hearing, had directed the Waqf Board and the mosque committee to submit revenue records regarding the ownership of the shrine.

During the hearing, the Waqf Board's lawyer argued that the mosque had existed before 1947 at this very site and a new structure was built after demolishing the old one. The Commissioner’s Court questioned the Waqf Board that why the required approvals/permissions, including for architectural plans, were not obtained from the municipal corporation if the mosque was rebuilt after demolishing the earlier one. The court said that the entire construction was carried out in violation of the regulations.

After a 45-minute discussion, the Municipal Commissioner first reserved his decision and later directed the mosque committee to demolish the remaining two floors of the shrine.

On October 5, the Commissioner’s Court had directed the Waqf Board and the Sanjauli Mosque Committee to raize the top three floors of the five-storey mosque at Sanjauli and submit the revenue records of its remaining two floors. The mosque came to limelight last year following a fight between two communities at Malyana.