Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Sunehri Masjid Imam move court against NDMC’s move to demolish Sunehri Bagh mosque; suggest plans to protect the mosque and solve traffic issues

Syed Khalique Ahmed

NEW DELHI—Jamaat-e-Islami Hind(JIH), a prominent religio-cultural organization of Indian Muslims and the Sunehri Bagh Masjid Imam Abdul Aziz, have moved the Delhi High Court challenging the action of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) seeking demolition of the Sunehri Bagh mosque on the pretext of the masjid causing hurdles to the smooth flow of traffic in the area. The mosque is located near Udyog Bhawan.

Both the JIH and the mosque Imam have filed separate petitions. While the JIH has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) through its Assistant Secretary Inamurrahman Khan, Imam Abdul Aziz has filed a petition in his capacity as Imam of the mosque for the last 20 years. He has also made the Delhi Waqf Board as a respondent.

The court case was filed after the NDMC issued a public notice through advertisements in daily newspapers seeking “objections and suggestions” of the public regarding “removal” of the mosque.

The civic body claims that it has initiated the action based on recommendations of the Delhi Traffic Police.

The traffic police, in a letter to NDMC on June 27 this year, has said that traffic load in the Sunehri Bagh roundabout area has increased due to construction of new buildings in the area, and requested the civic body to examine the feasibility of “realignment or redesigning” the Sunehri Bagh roundabout or “invoking of any other suitable traffic engineering interventions to maintain smooth and safe flow of traffic in the area.”

What needs to be observed is that the traffic police nowhere says that the removal of the mosque is required for ensuring smooth traffic flow. It specifically mentions that the traffic in the Sunehri Bagh area has gone up due to construction of new buildings.

Instead of finding out a solution to the problem through engineering interventions like reducing the width of the surrounding footpaths and illegal vehicle parking to allow proper traffic management, NDMC went ahead with a proposal to remove the mosque itself. Moreover, as claimed by the two petitions, there is no traffic issue in the Sunehri Bagh area at all. According to the petitioners, the traffic in the Sunehri Bagh area is less than around other roundabouts in the area. The ground realities prevalent in the area raises questions about the veracity of the claims made by the traffic police.

NDMC had earlier conducted surveys of the mosque in July and August this year following traffic police letter. The Delhi Waqf Board (DWF), which owns the mosque property by virtue of being its trustee under the Waqf laws, had apprehended demolition of the mosque through illegal means. It had moved the Delhi high court.

However, the high court on December 18 disposed of the board’s petition after the NDMC counsel assured the court that no action will be taken against the mosque in violation of the existing laws.

But within a week, the NDMC came with a notice seeking public opinion regarding demolition of the mosque based on traffic police application.

The objections and suggestions, according to the notice, can be submitted by 5 pm on January 1, 2024 at [email protected].

According to NDMC sources, more than 1000 mails had been received by Thursday afternoon, most of which were from the Muslim bodies and individuals who opposed demolition of the mosque.

The NDMC notice is very ludicrous in the sense that it has gone to the public to know their opinion for demolition of a religious place.

If interpreted, the disputes regarding a religious place will now be taken to the public and not to a court of law.

If the majority of the people support demolition, the government agency will accordingly bulldoze the building, irrespective of all other considerations and legal provisions.

If this particular modus operandi is adopted by government agencies with regard to religious places, there will be total chaos and disorder in the country because such issues are present in each and every state.

Demolition of Sunehri Bagh Masjid will set a dangerous precedent

“Proceeding with such actions will set a dangerous precedent for future demolition drives and thus lead to a destruction of other historical and heritage buildings in and around the historic city of Delhi,” one of the petitioners said.

Both the parties – JIH and mosque Imam in their separate applications – have raised many crucial issues, saying that there is no traffic problem around the mosque roundabout and the arguments of the traffic police are not based on facts. Abdul Aziz is an Imam appointed by the Delhi Waqf Board. In previous petition before the high court, the Imam had submitted photos and videos of the traffic movement around the mosque, particularly of Friday afternoon, when there is huge gathering for Friday prayers. “It is clearly visible from the videos that there is no traffic congestion on the roads around the roundabout,” he said.

Even if there is traffic congestion, it is the responsibility of the traffic police to manage it. “How can the mosque be held responsible for traffic problems with which it is not connected at all,” he asked.

Moreover, the traffic has increased due to construction of new buildings in the recent past and the mosque is at its place for over 350 years, so how could the mosque be responsible for traffic issues in the area.

If traffic congestion is the only pretext to remove the mosque, then there are several religious places of different faiths all over Delhi where there is perpetual traffic jam. Does this mean that those religious places be removed? Could Delhi traffic police produce a single example where it removed an old religious/worship building simply to facilitate smooth flow of traffic? If it has no such a precedent, then why target a mosque and particularly, when there is no traffic problem due to its existence.

Sunehri Bagh Mosque is a Heritage Building

The Sunehri Bagh Masjid is among 886 buildings in Delhi that are notified as Heritage Buildings as per Heritage Conservation Committee(HCC) of the Ministry of Urban Development. On October 1, 2009, the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi notified 141 buildings, including the Sunehri Bagh Masjid, as heritage buildings on the advice of HCC and NDMC.

This masjid is also among 42 mosques and Muslim graveyards that were handed over to the Muslim community through an agreement signed by the Sunni Majlis-e-Auqwaf and the then Chief Commissioner of Delhi A V Askwith between 1942 and 1945. According to the two petitions, this document is available in the Land and Development Office of the Ministry of Urban Affairs. Another agreement for the 42 properties was signed with the Government of India by Imam and Managing Committee secretary Syed Ahmed Bukhari who was grandfather of the current Imam of Jama Masjid Ahmed Bukhari.

NDMC’s public notice is a contempt of court

The two petitioners have also submitted that NDMC action calling for “objections and suggestions” for demolition of the Sunehri Bagh Masjid amounts to contempt of court as the case involving ownership of 123 waqf properties, including Sunehri Masjid, was pending for adju8dication before the Delhi High Court.

The petitioners say that NDMC is legally not allowed to take any action with regard to any of these properties, including the Sunehri Bagh Masjid till final verdict in the case.

They also argue that since it is a mosque, it is covered under the provisions of the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 that clearly says that the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, cannot be altered. Based on this, the two petitioners say that the Masjid cannot be removed from the present place.

According to petitioners, the mosque is also a Waqf property. They contend that Section 104 (A) of Wakf Act, 1955, added by Wakf (Amendment)Act, 2013, says: Once a Waqf property is always a Waqf property.

Historical significance of Sunehri Bagh mosque:

1. Sunehri Majid is older than NDMC and Lutynes Delhi.

2. This mosque is among the buildings that have not encroached upon the land of Lutyens Delhi, but it is the other way round.

3. When a plan was drawn out for construction of a new capital city between the Purana Qila and the Raisina Hills, Sunehri Masjid was located on a road called Qutub Road at that time. Looking at its architectural significance and use, the then town planner decided to incorporate it into the town planning by replacing it in one of the many roundabouts in the new city.

4. This mosque played an important role in India’s fight against the British. Maulana Hasrat Mohani, a stalwart of India’s freedom struggle, and who coined the slogans of Inquilab Zindabad and Purna Swaraj (complete independence), chose to live in this mosque, not at his official residence as a Member of Parliament. His resolution for Purna Swaraj at the Congress Session of 1931 marked a pivotal moment in India’s history, shifting the goalpost from autonomy to absolute freedom.

4. The mosque is one of the few structures that was not demolished but incorporated in the plans for the capital city of New Delhi in 1912. This was done partly due to its historical and architectural significance but mainly because it was still used by the general public of Delhi.

Suggestions given by the petitioners:

1. An incident like the Sunehri Bagh Masjid had taken place during the reign of the Prime Minister, the Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The Masjid Irwin Road located on Baba Kharak Singh Marg was served notice for its demolition as a result of urban development and road expansion. The management committee of the mosque wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and stated that the mosque was older than New Delhi. They stated that the road had taken the place of the mosque and not the other way around. Hence, the road could not be expanded further by demolishing the mosque. As a result, the notice of demolition was taken back.

2. Instead of demolishing the mosque, the petitioners have suggested to find alternative solutions to address the traffic concerns in the vicinity.

3.The petitioners suggested to adapt a plan into the traffic engineering plan to preserve both the heritage building and address the traffic issues effectively.

3. It asked the NDMC and traffic police department to analyse traffic patterns, identify bottlenecks and optimize traffic management strategies by conducting a comprehensive traffic & engineering study to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of these engineering alternatives.

4. Employ advanced modern traffic control systems to control the traffic as these systems adjust traffic signal timings based on real-time traffic conditions and demand.

5. Introducing underpasses or overpasses that allow traffic to flow smoothly while avoiding any direct interaction with Sunehri Masjid.

6. Road widening and realignment options can be explored for widening the existing roads by realigning them to provide additional lanes and improve traffic movement.