Sanjauli Mosque: AHMO appeal dismissed, illegal buildings to be demolished

A local court in Shimla on Saturday dismissed a petition challenging the Municipal Commissioner’s order to demolish the illegal buildings of Sanjauli Mosque.

The Shimla district court dismissed the petition filed by the All Himachal Muslim Organization (AHMO) challenging the city commissioner’s October 5 order allowing demolition of the three unauthorized floors of the mosque.

Petitioner’s lawyer Vishva Bhushan alleged that Sanjauli Mosque Committee President Latif Mohammad, who had approved the demolition, had no authority to do so. “We will go through the order and then decide how to proceed,” she said after the court dismissed the lawsuit.

In September there were protests over the alleged illegal construction of the Sanjauli Mosque. On September 11, at least ten people, including six police officers and four protesters, were injured after police resorted to baton charges and the use of water cannons when agitators broke through the barricades and got close to the mosque.

The Municipal Commissioner’s Court on October 5 allowed demolition of unauthorized floors and gave two months time to complete the demolition. The court directed the mosque committee and the Waqf board to bear the cost of demolishing the unauthorized portion.

In accordance with the court order, the mosque committee had started demolition of three unauthorized floors of Sanjauli Mosque in Shimla after getting a nod from the Waqf Board. The mosque committee had committed itself to the city commissioner that it would demolish the unauthorized part of the mosque itself.

The AHMO appealed the order on November 6, claiming that Latif Mohammad had no authority to advocate for the demolition of the illegal buildings.

The court asked the Waqf Board to provide an affidavit as to the capacity in which Latif Mohammad had offered to demolish the three unauthorized floors of the disputed mosque. In response, the Waqf Board produced a document from 2006 stating that Latif Mohammad was appointed president of the Sanjauli Mosque Committee.

Latif Mohammad also claimed, “I have been the president of the Sanjauli Mosque Committee since 2006 and the municipal commissioner’s court had also terminated me from the post of president in September.”