Sanjauli Mosque in Shimla Declared Illegal, Municipal Commissioner's Court Orders Demolition

New Delhi: A longstanding controversy has surrounded a mosque situated in the Sanjauli area of Shimla. On Saturday (May 3), a hearing took place in the Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner Court, during which the Municipal Corporation Commissioner deemed the mosque entirely illegal and ordered its complete demolition.

As per a Hindustan Times report, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhupendra Kumar Atri stated that the mosque was built in violation of regulations, lacking necessary approvals such as a building permit, a no objection certificate (NOC), and an approved map.

In this matter, Corporation Commissioner Atri has ordered the demolition of the lower two floors, in addition to the three floors that were pulled down in October last year.

This order to demolish the mosque concludes a case that has been presented more than 50 times in the court of the Municipal Corporation Commissioner during the last 15 years.

During the proceedings, the Waqf Board could not produce any ownership documents for the mosque land. The mosque committee also failed to provide an approved map of the structure or a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for its construction.

The Waqf Board has asserted its claim to the land for over a decade.

In this regard, advocate Jagat Pal, representing the local residents of Sanjauli, said, 'The MC Commissioner has ordered the demolition of the mosque, as neither the mosque committee nor the Waqf Board provided records pertaining to the land ownership on which the mosque is built.'

Following the court's directive, the entire mosque located in the residential area of Sanjauli is to be demolished, with the costs incurred being the responsibility of the Waqf Board and the Sanjauli Mosque Committee.

Violent protests had taken place last year

After a protest last year, a ruling was issued to dismantle three floors of the mosque that were classified as illegal.

On October 5, 2024, the municipal commissioner ordered the removal of these three unauthorised floors after a violent demonstration in Shimla on September 11. The mosque committee subsequently communicated with the MC Commissioner, expressing their willingness to take down the unauthorized sections.

Prior to this, on September 11, significant unrest occurred surrounding the mosque, with thousands of agitated Hindus assembling in the streets, toppling barricades, and raising slogans for approximately five hours. During the violent protests, the protesters clashed with the police, resulting in injuries to at least ten individuals, including six police officers and four protesters.

This situation arose when the police resorted to lathi charges and water cannons to deter protesters from breaching barricades and approaching the mosque.

The protest stemmed from a communal clash in Mehli, Shimla, on August 31, which led members of one community to seek refuge in the Sanjauli Mosque. Subsequently, from September 1, local residents began demonstrating against unauthorised mosques in Shimla and other regions of Himachal Pradesh.

It is noteworthy that the mosque's construction commenced in 2007, and in 2010, local residents filed a petition in the municipal corporation court, deeming it illegal. This case had remained unresolved in court since then, despite both BJP and Congress administrations having governed the state without taking significant action to address the issue.

On September 4, Congress MLA and minister for rural development and panchayati raj, Aniruddh Singh, stated in the state assembly that multiple notices had been issued in the municipal corporation court regarding the mosque's illegal construction, yet four to five additional floors were constructed unlawfully.

Furthermore, there was contention regarding the mosque's land, with Aniruddh Singh asserting that it was built on government property. An official from the Waqf Board indicated that until 2012, the mosque was a single-storey structure, and the board was unaware of who was responsible for the subsequent illegal construction of additional floors.