Hearing was held in the Municipal Corporation Court on Saturday regarding the disputed multi-storey mosque in Sanjauli, the biggest suburb of Himachal Pradesh’s capital Shimla. Due to political uproar on this issue and Hindu society coming out on the streets, everyone’s eyes were on the order coming from the court. However, no decision came from the court on this matter today. The hearing of the case lasted for about an hour in the court of Municipal Corporation Shimla. Apart from the Waqf Board, the JE of the Municipal Corporation, the representative of the property branch of the corporation and the lawyer of Sanjauli Local Resident (Hindu organization) Jagat Pal appeared. After hearing all the parties, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhupendra Atri has fixed the next date of hearing on October 5.
During the hearing of the case, the court asked the Waqf Board to clarify its role in the construction of this disputed mosque. The Waqf Board told the court that they own the land on which the mosque is built. The Waqf Board told that it was constructed by the mosque committee and the Waqf Board had no role in the construction. The lawyer of the Waqf Board also said that how were the floors built in the mosque without permission. When the report related to the construction of the JE of the Municipal Corporation comes, they will submit their side in the court. The court directed the JE of the Municipal Corporation to give the report related to the construction to the Waqf Board, so that they can present their side before the court in the next hearing. The fact also came to light in the court that no map of the construction has been passed.
What did the lawyer of the Hindu organization claim
On the other hand, the lawyer of Sanjauli local resident (Hindu organization) claimed that according to the revenue records, the ownership of the land on which the mosque is located is with the state government. That is, the real owner of the land on which the mosque is located is the state government. Former head Mohammad Latif, who appeared in the court on behalf of the mosque committee, said that till the time he was the head of the committee till 2012, only two and a half floors of the mosque were constructed. He could not give any information about how the construction took place after that. The court asked Mohammad Latif that from where did the funds come for the construction of the upper floors of the mosque. He could not give any satisfactory answer on this too. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhupendra Atri has said that this matter is already under consideration. After hearing all the parties in this matter, the next date of hearing has been fixed on October 5. The court has also sought an answer from the Waqf Board and the Masjid Committee on how the two and a half storey mosque became a five-storey one.
After the hearing, Waqf Board’s lawyer BS Thakur, in response to media questions, said that the Waqf Board will file a status report in the next hearing regarding the status of the mosque’s property. He said that the Sanjauli mosque is the property of the Waqf Board. But the dispute is about the illegal construction of the floors above the mosque. He said that the JE of the Municipal Corporation will give his report regarding the four floors built in the mosque and on that basis the Waqf Board will file its status report in the Municipal Corporation Court.
He said that according to the records, the Wakf Board is the owner of this property from 1947 till now. He said that the land on which the mosque is built does not belong to the Himachal government but to the Wakf Board. He said that the upper floors that have been built in the mosque after 2010 are a matter between the mosque committee and the Municipal Corporation and the Wakf Board has nothing to do with it.
In this case, the lawyer of Jolly Local Resident (Hindu organization) said that the Waqf Board has not been able to show the documents of ownership of the land of this mosque before the court. He claimed that according to the revenue records, the ownership of the land of the mosque is with the state government.
State officer of Waqf Board Qutubdin says that the land belongs to Waqf Board and a one storey mosque is also registered in the records but he knows who built it. Some Muslims from other states came to Shimla and bypassing the local mosque committee, they illegally built four more floors of the mosque. Waqf Board has appealed to the court not to demolish the mosque.
The stand of Hindu organizations will be monitored
After today’s hearing in the court, it remains to be seen what the stance of the local Hindu organization is on this issue because people have said that if the mosque is not demolished within a week, they will demolish the mosque themselves, but the matter is now pending in the court till October 5.
Report: UK Sharma
