The Allahabad High Court has rejected the petition of the Sambhal mosque committee to stay the demolition of a mosque built on a pond and government land in Sambhal.The court heard the petition in a special hearing at 10 am, but refused to grant any relief to the committee. The special hearing took place by a single bench of Justice Dinesh Pathak today.The court directed the petitioner to file an appeal in the trial court to stop the demolition and with this order, the court dismissed the petition.
For the second consecutive day, the High Court heard the case on holiday as a special case. The High Court had requested documents related to the mosque's land during yesterday's hearing and today the petitioner had submitted the documents.
According to the petitioner's lawyer, Arvind Kumar Tripathi, they have received the demolition order after the court's intervention.“Actions to demolish the mosque were being carried out without a demolition order,” he alleged.The petition filed in the High Court sought a stay on the demolition order passed against the mosque, a marriage hall and a hospital.
The petition was filed on behalf of Masjid Sharif Gosulbara Rawan Buzurg and the mosque's Mutawalli Minjar.The mosque side argued that the marriage hall had been demolished and October 2, Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra, were chosen for the demolition.
The crowd during the bulldozer operation could have caused a major accident or riot.It is alleged that the marriage hall was built on pond land while a portion of the mosque is built on government land. However, the mosque committee had demolished the illegal portion.The state government, the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, Sambhal, the ADM, the Tehsildar, and the Gram Sabha have been made parties to the petition.
Advocates Arvind Kumar Tripathi and Shashank Shri Tripathi argued on behalf of the petitioner, while Chief Standing Counsel J N Maurya and Standing Counsel Ashish Mohan Srivastava argued on behalf of the state government.(UNI)
