SC upholds Allahabad HC’s order to remove mosque from its premises

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed two petitions against the Allahabad High Court’s 2017 judgment directing the removal of a mosque from the high court premises, according to the Bar and Bench.

The petitioners, Waqf Masjid High Court and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, had challenged a November 2017 Allahabad High Court order, which had given them three months to move the mosque out of the premises, reported news agency PTI.

A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar gave parties three months’ time to implement the High Court order while allowing the petitioner, Waqf Masjid High Court to make a representation to the State government for alternative land. The state may consider the representation in accordance with law and on its own merits.

A brief history

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Waqf Masjid High Court, briefly narrated the history of the Masjid in to provide a background to the dispute, reported LiveLaw. He submitted that the present building of the Allahabad High Court was constructed in the year 1861.

“The government changed in 2017 and everything changed. A PIL is filed 10 days after the new government was formed. We have no problems with shifting to an alternative place as long as they give it to us,” he said.

Since then the Muslim advocates, Muslim clerks, Muslims clients were offering namaz on the northern corner on Fridays; there was an arrangement for wazu as well.

According to Sibal, the Registrar of High Court provided another place at the southern end for the mosque at the request of a Muslim Lawyers’ delegation.

At the time, an individual, who was having a government grant land, offered them space to offer namaz at a private mosque on the premises. Thus, the private mosque was converted into a public m mosque, said Sibal.

He further added that in the year 1988, the lease of the land on which the mosque was situated was renewed for another 30 years, which was to come to an end in 2017. However, in the year 2000, the lease was cancelled, but namaz continues to be offered at the mosque till date, he concluded.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM