In the Sanjauli Masjid case, the MC Commissioner Court has ordered the demolition of three floors of the mosque. It has been said in the decision that the mosque committee will have to bear the expenses incurred on demolishing the disputed part of the mosque.
The court’s decision has come on illegal construction in the mosque of Sanjauli, a suburb of Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. A hearing was held in the Municipal Corporation court on Saturday regarding the illegal construction of this controversial four-storey mosque which is in the news. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhupendra Atri, while hearing the illegal construction of the mosque, has given important orders to the Mosque Committee. The verdict states that the upper three floors of the mosque were built illegally. In such a situation, the second, third and fourth floors of the mosque will have to be demolished.
Hearing regarding illegal construction in the mosque has been going on in the Commissioner’s Court for the last 14 years. The Municipal Corporation Commissioner has given this big decision on the 46th hearing. The Muslim side has been ordered to demolish three floors of the mosque within two months. The Waqf Board and the Mosque Committee have been asked to demolish three floors at their own expense. The court has scheduled the next hearing of the case on December 21, 2024.
Waqf Board’s lawyer Bhup Singh Thakur, while talking to journalists after the hearing, said that the court has rejected the application of local people to form a party in this case. Orders have been passed to demolish the upper three floors of the mosque. Mosque Committee and Waqf Board have been ordered to demolish these floors at their own expense. The mosque committee itself had given a written application in the court to demolish these floors. The Municipal Court has given two months time to demolish the disputed parts.
It is noteworthy that political struggle is being seen in the entire state regarding this mosque located in Sanjauli. Under the banner of Hindu organizations, Hindus are protesting on the streets in Shimla and other districts, demanding demolition of illegal mosques and registration of people of particular communities coming from outside. On September 11, Hindus had staged a violent protest in Sanjauli and tried to reach the disputed mosque site. During this time, the police had tried to stop them by putting up barricades, which people broke and started moving forward.
The police used water cannon and lathicharge to disperse the protesters. Many protesters were injured in this. Half a dozen policemen were also injured. The interesting aspect is that after the issue of Sanjauli mosque became heated, cases of illegal construction came to light in mosques in other districts of the state and people took to the streets and demonstrated. Last September, the Municipal Corporation Mandi court had ordered the demolition of the illegal structure of a mosque built there.
The construction of this controversial mosque of Sanjauli started in 2007. The local people declared the mosque illegal and filed a petition against it in the municipal court in 2010. Since then this matter is pending in the court. The special thing is that since then there were BJP and Congress governments in the state, but the tenure of any government did not show seriousness regarding this. The Municipal Corporation officials are also being considered negligent in this entire matter.
In fact, notices were repeatedly issued in the Municipal Court regarding the illegal construction of the mosque, but still four floors were erected illegally. The Municipal Corporation administration is also accused as to why the electricity and water connection was not disconnected due to illegal construction. The former head of the mosque committee told the court that till the year 2012, the mosque was two storeyed. After this illegal construction took place here. It is also surprising that when the matter was pending in the court, how illegal construction took place in the mosque. There is also a dispute over the location of the mosque.
Cabinet Minister Anirudd Singh had given a statement in the Assembly that this mosque is built on the land of Himachal government. However, the Waqf Board claimed in the court that the mosque was constructed on their land. Malyana area of Shimla comes under Kusumpati assembly and Congress minister Anirudva Singh is the MLA here. In the second fortnight of August, 37-year-old Vikram Singh, who runs a shop in Malyana, was beaten up by a young man and his friends. The youth who assaulted belong to a particular community (Muslim).
They belong to outside state and do small business in Shimla. There was a minor altercation between the two parties, which turned into a fight. Youths of a particular community attacked Vikram Singh with flags and rods, due to which he was badly injured. Vikram Singh got about 14 stitches on his head. Dhali police had arrested six accused in this case. The shocking thing is that two of the accused were minors.
It is alleged that after committing the crime, these accused came and hid in the mosque. After that, Hindu organizations demonstrated in Sanjauli and demanded the demolition of the mosque, calling it illegal. On September 2, people reached in front of the disputed mosque of Sanjauli and Hanuman Chalisa was recited in front of the mosque. The protesters under the banner of Hindu organizations raised the issue of illegal construction in this mosque and demanded the administration to demolish it. After this, this matter gained political momentum and demonstrations took place from the Assembly to the streets.
