New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) The city authorities on Friday assured the Delhi High Court that “sentiments” were protected in the process of installation of a statue of Maharani Lakshmi Bai at the Shahi Idgah Park at Sadar Bazar here.
The court was informed by the counsel for the MCD that the statue has been placed in a “corner”, 200 m away from the Idgah wall.
A partition wall has been built and “sentiments are being protected”, the senior counsel for the DDA said.
The court was hearing an appeal by the Shahi Idgah Managing Committee against a single judge’s order refusing to restrain the installation of the freedom fighter’s statue.
The committee has submitted that the Shahi Idgah Park is an ancient property built during the Mughal period and it is used for offering namaz.
The bench was told during the hearing that the statue has been installed.
Favouring an amicable resolution in the matter, the bench headed by Chief Justice Manmohan asked the authorities to take a delegation of the appellant to the site to show how the statue has been placed.
“Take a small team and show them the area,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
“Three representatives of the appellant are permitted to visit the area where the statue has been installed. Take them tomorrow,” the court stated, while listing the matter for hearing on October 7.
On October 1, the court had questioned the opposition to the installation of the statue by the MCD at the Shahi Idgah Park as Maharani Lakshmi Bai was not a religious figure.
It had, however, said it does not want the issue to become a “flashpoint unnecessarily”.
On September 25, it had said Lakshmi Bai was a national hero and history should not be divided on communal politics.
Earlier, the single judge had rejected a petition by the committee which sought directions to the civic authorities not to encroach upon the Shahi Idgah, claiming it to be a Waqf property.
The committee referred to a gazette notification published in 1970 which said that the Shahi Idgah Park is an ancient property built during the Mughal period, which is being used for offering namaz.
It was submitted that such a vast property could accommodate as many as 50,000 namazis at one time.
The single judge had said that the petitioner committee has no legal or fundamental right to oppose the maintenance and upkeep of the parks or open ground, surrounding the Shahi Idgah by the DDA and thereby oppose the installation of the statue by the MCD. PTI ADS AS AS
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