Uttar Pradesh govt demolishes Masjid despite pending high court case

Bareilly: Uttar Pradesh administration razed down a mosque in Bareilly district while the case regarding the structure stays pending in Allahabad High Court. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) court gave the order to demolish the structure, located in Pipariya village under Bhojipura police station limits, and the deed was carried out on Saturday, February 7th, Maktoob Media reported.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Bareilly Sadar, Pramod Kumar, claimed that the mosque was built on a plot notified as barren government land in revenue records, according to a report by PTI.

He claimed that land had been encroached upon through illegal construction, he said, adding that the administration acted at the behest of a civil court order and demolished the illegal structure with the help of bulldozers, freeing the government property of encroachment.

SDM Kumar said the action came following an 18-year-long legal battle and eviction proceedings.

Initially, a tehsildar court had declared the construction illegal and passed an eviction order. This decision was challenged in the civil court, which too refused to grant any relief to the appellants, dismissing the case.

Mohammad Umar, a resident of Pipariya village, said the Masjid-e-Ala Hazrat is about 50 years old. "It was demolished today, without any prior notice," he alleged

However, Mohammad Iqbal, the mutawalli of the masjid, said that the administration’s claim is not true. He said that the matter is currently under the consideration of the Allahabad High Court, and the court had fixed a day for the next hearing.

“Despite the case being sub judice, the administration went ahead and demolished the mosque before the scheduled hearing,” Iqbal told Maktoob Media.

Also, Maktoob accessed and reviewed an official revenue document issued by the Bhojipura tehsil administration. The document states that a mosque existed in Pipariya village as early as 1968 on the mentioned land.