sanjauli-mosque-smiti-seeks-demolition-of-illegal-floors

Members of the Dev Bhoomi Sangarsh Samiti on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Shimla Municipal Corporation commissioner. They sought the demolition of the top three illegal floors of the disputed Sanjauli mosque, citing the recent Himachal Pradesh High Court order.

 

After hearing arguments from all sides, a single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel on December 3 ordered status quo on the lower two floors of the mosque. The court, however, upheld the direction to demolish the top three floors as ordered by the Shimla Municipal Commissioner’s court.

 

The Samiti submitted the memorandum to Municipal Commissioner Bhupinder Attri, demanding immediate action. Samiti convener Madan Thakur said the group was even willing to carry out the demolition free of cost if the municipal corporation faced any difficulty.

 

He said three storeys of the mosque had been declared illegal. While the top floor has already been demolished, the Dev Bhoomi Samiti is ready to demolish the third and fourth floors of the five-storey structure at no cost.

 

Samiti co-convener Vijay Sharma said the group’s intention was not to create any law and order problem. He added that they only wanted the court’s directions to be implemented fully.

 

Earlier, the Wakf Board and the mosque committee had challenged the municipal court’s order in the district court. The district court upheld the municipal commissioner court’s decision and directed that the illegal structure be demolished by December 30. The Wakf Board later challenged this order in the High Court.

 

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 9.

 

Meanwhile, on December 8, the All Himachal Muslims Organisation held a press conference in Shimla. The group produced a 1915 revenue record to claim that the Sanjauli mosque is a legally established place of worship and not an encroachment.

 

Organisation president Nazakat Ali Hashmi said the mosque has existed for over a century and is reflected in official records across several decades.

 

He said the mosque has been in existence since 1915 and appeared in the 1997–98 and 2003 revenue records as well. Hashmi alleged that later entries showing only the government as the landowner indicate tampering with records.