Sanjauli Mosque to be demolished, orders Shimla municipal commissioner court

Shimla: Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner's Court ruled on Saturday that all five stories of the disputed Sanjauli Mosque here were unauthorised and ordered the demolition of the entire structure, according to a lawyer.

A section of residents of Sanjauli and Hindu outfits had launched an agitation to press for the demolition of the mosque, claiming that it was unauthorised but no action was taken by the Corporation during the past 15 years.

The court had on October 5, 2024, ordered the demolition of the top three "unauthorised" stories and asked the Waqf Board to produce the documents of sanctioned plans of the remaining two stories.

Advocate Jagat Pal, representing the locals who were seeking the demolition of the mosque, said that the Waqf Board failed to produce the documents on ownership of the land and also the sanctioned building plan.

Following this, the court of Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Atri passed the order for the demolition of the mosque, Pal said.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court had directed the MC Commissioner to decide the case within three months by May 8 and the MC Court passed the orders after hearing both the parties.

The advocate appearing for the Waqf Board had argued that the mosque existed prior to 1947 and the mosque was constructed after demolishing the old mosque.

The court asked why the sanction was not sought for reconstructing the mosque from the Municipal Corporation and why the construction was carried out in violation of the rules.

On the direction of the court of Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Atri, the work to demolish the three unauthorised stories had started and a roof the mosque, two lanterns of the fourth storey and walls of two stories had already been removed and now orders have been passed for demolishing the entire mosque.