Sanjauli Mosque: AHMO appeal rejected, illegal structures to be demolished

A local court in Shimla on Saturday dismissed a plea challenging the municipal corporation commissioner’s order to demolish the illegal structures of the Sanjauli mosque.

The Shimla District Court has dismissed a petition filed by the All Himachal Muslim Organization (AHMO) challenging the October 5 order passed by the Municipal Commissioner’s Court allowing the demolition of three unauthorized floors of a mosque.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Vishwa Bhushan, argued that Sanjauli Mosque Committee President Latif Mohammad, who had given consent for the demolition, had no authority to do so. “We will review the order and then decide on the next course of action,” she said after the court rejected the request.

In September, protests erupted over the alleged illegal construction of the Sanjauli Mosque. On September 11, at least 10 people, including six police officers and four protesters, were injured after police used batons and water cannons as agitators broke barricades and approached the mosque.

On October 5, the Municipal Commissioner’s Court allowed the demolition of arbitrary floors and gave two months to complete the demolition. The court ordered the mosque committee and the waqf board to cover the costs of demolishing the unauthorized part.

According to the court order, the mosque committee has started demolishing three unauthorized floors of the Sanjauli mosque in Shimla after obtaining permission from the Waqf Board. The mosque committee gave an undertaking to the municipal corporation commissioner, offering to demolish the unauthorized part of the mosque on its own.

AHMO filed an appeal against the order on November 6, arguing that Latif Mohammad was not authorized to make any submissions to demolish the illegal structures.

The court sought an affidavit from the Wakf Board on the capacity in which Latif Mohammad proposed to demolish three unauthorized floors of the disputed mosque. In response, the waqf board produced a document dated 2006 that said Latif Mohammad was appointed president of the Sanjauli Mosque Committee.

Latif Mohammad also claimed, “I was the president of the Sanjauli Mosque Committee since 2006 and the municipal court also notified me as the president in September.”