Right to practice religion not linked to particular place, says Madhya Pradesh HC junking mosque rebuilding plea

Indore: The right to practice religion has no connection with any particular place, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed while dismissing a plea seeking the reconstruction of a nearly 200-year-old mosque in Ujjain.

The mosque was demolished after land acquisition for the expansion of the Mahakal Lok complex of the Mahakaleshwar Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

The Indore bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Binod Kumar Dwivedi on October 7 rejected a plea filed by Ujjain resident Mohammad Tayyab and 12 others who challenged the court's September 4 order scrapping their application seeking reconstruction of Takiya Masjid and an inquiry against the administration.

The petitioners stated that they would offer namaz at the mosque, which was established around 200 years ago and declared a Waqf property by publication in the Official Gazette Notification dated December 13, 1985.

Their counsel, advocate Syed Ashhar Ali Warsi, argued that "the action of the respondents amounted to infringement and violation of religious rights as guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution".

It is further submitted that it is settled law that once a property is declared Waqf property, it remains a Waqf property forever and therefore, it has been wrongly acquired by the state government.

Additional Advocate General Anand Soni, appearing for the state government, opposed the plea, relying on a judgment delivered by the division bench of the Allahabad High Court.

"After acquisition of the property, the right to use that property for the purpose of offering prayers may be lost, but that does not militate against the guarantee contained in Article 25 of the Constitution, which is a right of a person to practice his religion in his house or elsewhere. Therefore, the petitioners have no locus to file a writ petition as well as a writ appeal," he contended.

The bench observed that the mosque and the land had been acquired by following the due process of law.

It noted that the land acquisition officer had awarded the compensation, distributed it to a number of persons who were in possession and dismantled the mosque.

Dismissing the appeal, the court quoted the Allahabad High Court judgment, saying: "The law of acquisition cannot be held to be invalid as that relates to land and not the individual's right to profess, practice or propagate religion. As the right to practice religion has no nexus with any particular place, that right cannot be deemed infringed by the acquisition of any particular piece of land which was issued as a mosque."

According to officials, Takiya Masjid was demolished on January 11 as part of the expansion of the Mahakal Lok parking area near the Mahakaleshwar Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

The demolition was carried out after the compensation was distributed, they said.