SC dismisses plea for rebuilding demolished Ujjain mosque

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging an order that rejected a petition seeking directions for the reconstruction of a mosque in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, which was demolished following land acquisition. The Takiya Masjid, stated to be established around 200 years ago, was demolished in January after the land on which it was built was acquired.

Authorities had initiated the land-acquisition proceedings in order to expand the parking space of the Mahakal Lok Parishar in Ujjain.

A plea challenging an October 7 order of a division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

The division bench of the high court had dismissed an appeal challenging a single-judge order that rejected a plea seeking directions to authorities for the reconstruction of the mosque.

During the hearing on Friday, the counsel representing the 13 petitioners told the apex court that the 200-year-old mosque was demolished as parking space was required. “It was required under the statutory scheme, compensation paid. You filed a writ petition challenging the same acquisition which was dismissed as withdrawn,” the bench observed.

The counsel said the mosque was declared a Waqf property in 1985.

“You need parking for some other religious place and you demolish the mosque and say you do not have a right,” the counsel argued. “Too late now, nothing can be done. Dismissed,” the bench said, adding that the high court has given reasoning in its order.

Before the high court, the petitioners had said they were residents of Ujjain and used to offer namaz in the mosque.

Authorities had told the court that the land was acquired after following the due process of law, compensation was paid and all the properties were now vested with the state government.

They had contended that there cannot be any illegality in demolishing the mosque to make the land vacant for the expansion of the parking area. “The petitioners have no locus to seek reconstruction of the masjid.

We do not find any ground to interfere with the order passed by the writ court,” the high court’s division bench had said.