Allahabad HC seeks UP govt response on plea against Saharanpur mosque demolition

The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to a plea against the Saharanpur mosque demolition. The Uttar Pradesh government, through the Saharanpur district magistrate, and Abdul Hamid, the mosque's manager/maulavi, have been made respondents in the case.Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal fixed October 12 for the next hearing and stayed the recovery of a Rs 6 crore fine imposed on the mosque management until then.The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a counter affidavit within three weeks on a petition challenging the demolition of a mosque located on the collectorate premises in Saharanpur.Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal fixed October 12 for the next hearing and stayed the recovery of a Rs 6 crore fine imposed on the mosque management until then.The petition, filed by advocate Mohammad Tanveer Ahmad, challenges a July 16 order of the Saharanpur city magistrate and a September 2 order of the district judge upholding it.The Uttar Pradesh government, through the Saharanpur district magistrate, and Abdul Hamid, the mosque's manager/maulavi, have been made respondents in the case. Under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction and Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972, the city magistrate had on July 16 ordered the demolition of the 315-square-metre mosque at the collectorate premises and imposed a fine of Rs 6.41 crore on its management.The mosque management challenged the order before the district court, but the district judge dismissed the appeal on September 2. The authorities subsequently demolished the mosque on September 5. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Ashish Kumar Singh argued that the eviction order was passed without determining the title to the property. He submitted that the property records carried the names of Wahid Khan and Yaqub Khan.Opposing the petition, Additional Advocate General Manish Goel argued that the petitioner's stand was contradictory. He said the petitioner had claimed on one hand that the mosque was built on zamindari property and, on the other, that it was waqf property, while the Sunni Central Waqf Board had not been made a party to the proceedings.Goel submitted that the disputed property was recorded in the name of the collectorate katchery. He said the records initially mentioned Wahid Khan and later, in 1956, showed the names of Wahid Khan, collectorate katchery and Yaqub Khan.The Additional Advocate General said the authorities had considered the entries to be fraudulent and noted that no ownership document had been produced by the petitioner.He further argued that the appellate court had correctly held that the land was under the ownership of the federal government during the British period and subsequently vested in the state.The petitioner, however, argued that the mosque was registered in the waqf register and that this aspect had not been properly considered by the authorities.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 11, 2026 16:37 IST