India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has asked the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to hear the objections and suggestions received from the public about the proposed demolition of the Sunehri Bagh Masjid in accordance with the law. The Masjid is locate near Parliament.
The court issued directions after the NDMC submitted an affidavit that it would consider objections from the Imam of Sunehri Bagh Masjid and the public in accordance with the law before making any decision on the proposed removal of the historic mosque.
The assurance was given by NDMC through the Additional Director General of India Chetan Sharma. This came as the NDMC submitted its affidavit during a hearing on a petition filed by Imam Abdul Aziz of the mosque. The Imam challenged a public notice issued on December 4, 2023, which sought public opinions on the mosque’s removal, citing traffic congestion as the reason.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed that the concerned authority must address the objections and suggestions received from the public in accordance with the law. The court officially recorded Sharma’s assurance.
Regarding ASG Sharma’s objections that the Imam lacked the standing to file the case and that only the Delhi Waqf Board could do so, Justice Kaurav stated that anyone, not just the Imam, could approach the court, as the NDMC’s notice was a public one inviting objections from all.
Advocates Firoz Iqbal Khan and Farhat Jahan Rehmani, representing the Delhi Waqf Board, argued that the mosque falls under the jurisdiction of the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) and not the NDMC. They asserted that the HCC has no authority to delist a heritage building and that the NDMC cannot take action against the mosque without it being delisted from the heritage list first.
With the Delhi High Court directing the NDMC to hear objections from the Imam and the public regarding the proposed demolition, the advocates emphasized that any violation of this order would constitute contempt of court. The NDMC has reportedly received over 60,000 objections against the proposed demolition. The advocates stressed that the mosque is neither an encroachment nor was it ever acquired by the government, and therefore, the Delhi Religious Committee has no jurisdiction in this matter.
The mosque is registered with the Waqf Board and listed with the HCC. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Assistant Secretary Inamurrahman, who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in December 2023 alongside the Imam, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling, calling it a victory for the mosque. He criticized the NDMC for issuing an “illegal” public notice regarding the mosque’s demolition and thanked the court for halting actions against Islamic religious sites. He also praised the high court for recognizing the Imam’s standing in the case, rejecting the NDMC’s contrary argument.
The Sunehri Bagh Masjid, constructed during the Mughal era, is a Grade III heritage building listed among 886 heritage properties in Delhi. It is one of 141 such structures in the NDMC area, classified by the HCC of the Ministry of Urban Development. The mosque is also part of 42 mosques and Muslim graveyards transferred to the Muslim community through an agreement between Sunni Majlis-e-Auqaf and the then Chief Commissioner of Delhi between 1942 and 1945, documented in the Land and Development Office of the Ministry of Urban Affairs.
