New Delhi: Failing to form a “definite opinion” on photos allegedly depicting “encroachments and some illegal constructions” surrounding the Jama Masjid, the Delhi High Court has directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to survey the area to “verify the averments therein” within two months.
In case an MCD survey found “any illegal construction or encroachment or illegal use”, the court has ordered “appropriate action” under the law, “with expedition”.
On Wednesday, a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, passed these directions, disposing of a petition filed by advocate Hemant Choudhary. In its two-page order, released Thursday afternoon, the court noted, “Certain photographs have also been enclosed, along with this writ petition, which apparently depict encroachments and some illegal constructions; however, no definite opinion can be formed on the basis of the said photographs.”
The order came a day after the MCD, following a different Delhi HC order in a separate but similar matter, conducted a drive demolishing unauthorised structures around Faiz-e-Ilahi Mosque, located near Turkman Gate in Old Delhi. The action, according to officials, involved bulldozers and police targeting illegal constructions adjacent to the mosque and graveyard. It led to some clashes with residents and a few arrests.
The Jama Masjid legal proceedings—initiated by locals Farhat Hasan, Mohd Shahid Khan, Mohd Asif, and Abdul Amir Amiro, all of whom are being represented by Advocate Choudhary in court—have demanded the immediate removal of unauthorised structures surrounding the 17th-century monument.
The writ petition asserted that the Shahi Jama Masjid was a “historic monument/heritage site” of national importance, currently suffering from “uncontrolled commercial as well as Illegal activities”. The petitioners emphasised “no personal interest in the litigation”, saying that they were acting solely to protect the sanctity of the site and people’s “welfare”.
A primary grievance, raised in the petition, concerns “encroachment” of public parks belonging to the MCD horticulture department. The petition claimed that Syed Ahmed Bukhari—the 13th and current Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid—and his relatives turned the green spaces into “lavish private houses and farms”. Relying on responses received to their Right To Information (RTI) applications, the petitioners stated that “no land has been allotted by the department”, rendering the residential constructions completely illegal.
Jama Masjid’s ‘commercial exploitation’
The petition related to the Jama Masjid alleged that the imam and his associates appeared to be “using the mosque as a private income source”, amounting to a “grave violation of religious sanctity, ASI heritage protection norms, and the Delhi Municipal Act”. Specific reference is made to the “Gumbad Café”, an establishment allegedly owned and operated by the Shahi Imam out of a terrace, directly opposite the dome of the masjid.
According to the petitioners, “heavy lights” have been fitted on the masjid’s property, solely to “enable customers to take photographs” with the dome in the background. Advocate Choudhary contended that such electricity usage for a private café constituted a “gross misuse of public money” and misuse of Delhi Waqf Board property.
The petition alleged that the mosque was frequently “closed for local worshippers during morning hours”, allowing access only to paying tourists, prioritising commercial gain over religious duty. Raising concerns over public safety and alleged unlicensed commercial activities, it claimed one “illegal chemist shop and an unlicensed hospital”, which has been operating within the MCD park area under the name Imam Abdullah Bukhari Hospital. According to the petition, these establishments lack valid licences and use “domestic electricity connections for commercial purposes”, posing what the petitioners describe as a “continuous threat to the life of the patients/public”.
Additionally, the petition detailed “large-scale illegal parking operations” at the masjid’s gates, which are numbered 3, 5, and 7. The operations are allegedly controlled by the Shahi Imam’s family to generate “lakhs of rupees in daily income”, it said.
“Foreign tourists are charged differently from local citizens”, the petition noted, adding that the revenue collected is never transparently audited or disclosed to the public.
The grounds for the petition, as mentioned in it, rest on the alleged failure of the authorities to act against the encroachments, despite multiple representations sent between November 2024 and November 2025.
The mosque management committee was “packed with the Imam’s family members and associates”, the petitioners said, calling it a “clear violation of Waqf governance norms”.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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