Shimla, Nov 6 (PTI) The disputed Sanjauli mosque case took a new turn on Wednesday as the All Himachal Muslim Organisation filed an appeal in the court of Additional District Judge, Shimla, challenging the October 5 order passed by the Municipal Commissioner’s Court, permitting demolition of three unauthorised floors of the mosque within two months.
Latif Mohammad, president of the Sanjauli mosque located in Shimla, and other members of the Muslim community had on September 12 offered to demolish the three unauthorised floors of the mosque and sought the permission of the municipal commissioner (MC).
The Municipal Commissioner’s Court had on October 5 allowed demolition of unauthorised floors and given two months time to complete the demolition. The mosque committee had started compliance of the orders following which the demolition work started with the removal of the roof.
The All Himachal Muslim Organisation (AHMO), which on October 11 reviewed the demolition order passed by the MC Court, decided to challenge the order. AHMO spokesperson Nazakat Ali Hashmi had announced that the mosque committee and the Waqf Board had no authority to give such undertaking and the orders passed by the MC Court were contrary to the facts.
“We have filed an appeal against the October 5 order of the Municipal Commissioner’s Court and pleaded that we are the aggrieved party as we have donated property. We are challenging that on whose behalf Latif appeared in the MC Court and who authorised him to give representation offering to demolish the mosque,” AHMO counsel Vishva Bhushan told the reporters here.
The AHMO pleaded that the Sanjauli Mosque Committee was not registered and the affidavit submitted by it was illegal.
The Additional District Judge fixed November 11 for the next hearing to decide the maintainability of the application and other related matters.
Earlier, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had on October 21 ordered the Shimla municipal commissioner to decide the 15-year-old case within eight weeks on the plea filed by the local residents and also instructed that notices be served to all the stakeholders before hearing the case.
The counsel for the local citizens, Jagat Pal, said the AHMO has no locus standi and was not an aggrieved party. He said the court has not passed any order regarding stopping the demolition and fixed the next hearing on November 11 to decide the maintainability of the appeal. “We will plead for imposing maximum penalty on the petitioner,” he said.
Pal said whether or not the local residents are made a party was not relevant as the MC Court had been directed to serve notices to all the stakeholders before hearing the case and instructed to decide the case in eight weeks.
On September 11, 10 people were injured during a protest demanding demolition of a portion of a mosque. After the Sanjauli protest, water cannons were used in Mandi on protests demanding demolition of encroachment by a mosque on government land in Mandi town. PTI BPL KSS KSS
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