The Hindu : New Delhi News : Remove Jama Masjid encroachments: HC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 15, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Remove Jama Masjid encroachments: HC

Staff Reporter

Yet another directive to MCD and Waqf Board

Jama Masjid... making it encroachment-free

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday once again directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Waqf Board to remove encroachments in and within 300 metres periphery of the historic Jama Masjid here.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice B.C. Patel and Justice S.K. Kaul directed the local body and the caretaker of the Mughal period religious shrine to see that the encroachments were removed once and for all.

It directed Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari to deposit his book of accounts of the past 30 years to the Board.

The Bench directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out minor repairs in the mosque and file a status report to the Court on August 3.

In November last year, the Bench had summoned the Daryaganj Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to explain to the Court why so far no action had been taken to clear the illegal constructions around and encroachments on the historic monument despite orders to this effect by the Court in 2000 and 2002.

The Bench asked the SDM to be present in person in the Court to explain the delay in removing the encroachments.

Plea for order to ASI

The Bench has been hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Heritage and Cultural Forum, a non-government organisation run by Usha Kumar, a Delhi High Court lawyer, seeking a direction to ASI to declare the mosque a protected monument.

The mosque had not been so far declared a protected monument, though the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had included it in their respective lists of protected monuments, the petition said.

However, the Waqf Board opposed the petition on the point of declaring the monument a protected one saying that it would hurt the religious sentiments of the devotees who visit it to offer prayer as the ASI does not allow offering of prayer inside a protected monument.

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