NEW DELHI (The Thursday Times) — The demolition of a century-old heritage mosque near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence in Delhi has been put on hold for four weeks after the government told the Delhi High Court it would take no coercive action against the structure in that period.
The Race Course mosque received an eviction notice on October 19 from the Land and Development Office, which falls under the housing ministry, declaring it an “unauthorised” structure on government land and giving its managers six days to vacate, Scroll and The Indian Express reported. Its electricity and water were cut off, the mosque authorities said. The mosque is listed as a heritage property on the New Delhi Municipal Council’s website.
On Thursday, the government told the court the office would decide on a representation from the Delhi Waqf Board within four weeks, but opposed allowing worshippers back in, citing safety concerns because of demolitions in the area. The court was hearing a plea by a worshipper seeking access to the mosque.
‘Waqf by user’
The notice came amid a wider demolition drive around Race Course Road, where Modi’s residence is located, including the removal of slum dwellers. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said the mosque has been a gazetted waqf property since 1977 and remains protected as “waqf by user”, a category for property treated as an endowment through long religious use, under the amended Waqf Act. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has urged Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to protect the mosque and its adjoining graveyard.
The case follows the partial demolition last month of the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, to widen a road for a Hindu pilgrimage, which led to clashes between police and protesters.
