Muslim bodies split over Shimla mosque demolition order. A look at 14-yr-old row & how it escalated

Sanjauli Mosque Committee has accepted court's order to demolish 3 'illegally built' stories of mosque, while All Himachal Muslim’s Organisation plans to challenge it, take fight to SC.

Sanjauli mosque row has led to confrontation netween police and protestors in Shimla | Representative Image | ANI

New Delhi: The All Himachal Muslim’s Organisation (AHMO) plans to challenge a Shimla Municipal Corporation commissioner court’s order on the demolition of an unauthorised portion of the Sanjauli Mosque which has been the centre of a controversy in the state for over a decade.

Municipal Commissioner Bhupender Attri on 5 October granted permission to the Sanjauli Mosque Committee to demolish the top three floors of the five-storey mosque within two months under the supervision of the Waqf Board in response to a request by the committee on 12 September.

The chairman of all mosques in Shimla, Imam Mumtaz Ahmed Qasmi, said various registered Muslim organisations would challenge the decision as he called a meeting of bodies like the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and Huda Education Society to take further steps.

Speaking to ThePrint for another report, AHMO spokesman Nazakat Ali Hashmi said, “We will fight the legal battle even in the Supreme Court. This decision is far from facts. The local Committee was not entitled to make any representation to the municipal corporation.”

Qasmi said the court had based its verdict on a memorandum from the mosque committee which wasn’t a registered body, while overlooking the mosque’s dilapidated condition and the need for more space to perform namaz.

“We will challenge this decision. The court made no mistake but some Muslim community members took wrong steps,” he said. “If this memorandum had not been submitted, the decision would not have been taken.”

When ThePrint reached Sanjauli Mosque’s Imam Mohammed Shehzad via calls, he refused to comment. “I am very disturbed right now. I am not in a good mental condition,” he said.

Sanjauli Mosque Committee Chairman Latif Negi said the committee and Waqf Board were waiting for the detailed order but would not challenge the decision.

The mosque committee has provided an undertaking to demolish the three “illegally built” floors and funds would be raised to tear them down. A decision on the rest of the mosque will be made in a hearing scheduled for 21 December.

What was the issue

The Sanjauli mosque controversy escalated last month after Hindu organisations—Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, Bajrang Dal, and Vishva Hindu Parishad—alleged unauthorised construction, intensifying their broader campaign against mosques in the state.

They said they had identified at least five mosques that were unauthorised or built on temple sites.

Following large protests by several Hindu organisations demanding the mosque’s demolition, a Muslim community delegation, including Imam Shehzad and Latif Negi, on 13 September offered to demolish the illegal portion of the controversial Sanjauli mosque.

Negi said to ThePrint that the move was aimed at restoring peace in the state as they did not want long-standing communal harmony to be disturbed.

“They submitted a memorandum for communal harmony. But will harmony be achieved only if all mosques are demolished?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Hindus are on board with the court’s decision.

“We are very happy with the decision. It is a victory for Hindutva and has boosted our campaign,” said Rachana Sharma, the ward councilor for Kasumpti in Shimla.

History of the dispute

The Sanjauli mosque construction issue dates back to 2010 when the mosque committee built unauthorised pillars, leading to a notice from the municipal corporation.

The issue persisted until 2012, when the mosque committee’s president secured a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Waqf Board, allowing for construction with the necessary municipal permits.

However, the plan submitted to the municipal corporation was found to have several deficiencies, including inaccuracies in the plot dimensions and non-compliance with local zoning regulations. Despite being instructed to address these issues, neither the mosque committee nor the Waqf Board took further action.

In 2017, the mosque added new floors, and in 2019, the committee received a revised notice from the municipal corporation court. By July 2023, the state Waqf Board was alerted to the illegal construction.

The case is currently pending in the revenue court of Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhupendra Attri, where approximately 46 hearings have been conducted.

The Kasumpti mosque

According to ward councillor Sharma, another mosque built in Kasumpti is an illegal structure. The matter is currently pending in the Municipal Corporation Court, and a decision is expected on 21 October.

She alleges it was originally a personal property that was later converted into a mosque. Councillor Sharma is hopeful that, just like the Sanjauli case, they will win this legal battle, too.

Muslim workers have stopped coming to offer namaz at the Kasumpti mosque, located about 6 km from Sanjauli, following aggressive protests by Hindu organisations last month.

Residents and members of the VHP-affiliated Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti claim that the land on which the mosque stands is leased to a Muslim family by the central government.

However, in 1990, that family transferred ownership to another Muslim individual, who gradually converted the house into a mosque.

Currently, no Muslim families live nearby, and “unidentified individuals” perform namaz there, raising security concerns, they said.

Speaking to ThePrint, an official associated with the Kasumpti mosque stated that workers come there to pray because there are no mosques in nearby areas such as Malyana and Mehli. He mentioned that the two-story mosque serves a population of approximately 4,000.

According to the official, even when the family that had originally been leased the land, left in 1990, about five people came here to pray and the interior structure of the building testified it was a mosque.

“The building has a prayer niche (mihrab) from which the cleric leads the prayers, indicating that it is a mosque,” he added.

Even as the Sanjauli row escalates, Qasmi is determined to save the mosques in the state.

“This is my mission now. We must fight to protect the mosques,” he said.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)