Shimla: Waqf claims ownership of Sanjauli mosque; court hearing on Oct 5

Shimla: The Waqf Board on Saturday gave a submission to a Shimla court that it owns the contentious mosque in Sanjauli Colony and the dispute was only about its further development.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner's court heard both parties in the the mosque case and fixed the next hearing for October 5.

"The MC Commissioner's Court had sent a notice to Waqf Board in 2023 and it submitted the reply during the last hearing and another summons was issued after that and we submitted the reply through our counsel on Saturday," Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board State Officer Kutubuddin Ahmed said.

The locals in the area have been demanding the demolition of the "unauthorised mosque".

The matter, which has been sub judice for the last 14 years, flared up into several mass protests after a businessman was allegedly attacked by some Muslim youths during a fight in the nearby Malyana area.

Advocate Jagat Pal, who appeared on behalf of local residents, said they were forced to join the issue as it had been lingering in the MC Commissioner's court for the past 14 years and the Waqf Board was made a party only in 2023.

He said it was not a communal issue but of illegal construction and the mosque must be demolished.

The court has sought a status report on the construction.

The Waqf Board was unable to produce any evidence of ownership, the counsel said, and said that as per the records of the Revenue department, the state was the owner of the land.

Kutubuddin Ahmed told reporters that the dispute was not about the ownership but about the further development of the shrine.

He said that according to records, when Shimla was in Punjab, the Waqf Board became the owner of the land. He also said that offering of prayer will continue at the mosque.

A few Hindu right bodies had on Thursday staged a massive protest at Chaura Maidan here in the vicinity of the Vidhan Sabha, demanding demolition of the mosque in Sanjauli.

Hindu Jagran Manch's Himachal unit president Kamal Gautam had earlier alleged that the mosque was being used to give shelter to "outsiders".

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had on Thursday said all state residents have the same rights and he has respect for all religions.

"Peaceful protests are permitted but nobody will be allowed to take law into his hands," he had said.