The Supreme Court on Tuesday considered the Akbarabadi mosque case regarding a construction raised at the site by Muslims on June 20 last year and posted the matter to Friday for further hearing. The Delhi High Court had on October 19 ordered demolition of the construction.
According to Shoaib Iqbal, Delhi MLA, who is the petitioner before the apex court challenging the High Court order, “such demolition may lead to communal violence, disruption of peace and harmony throughout the nation.”Appearing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, Justice Anil R Dave and Justice Vikramajitsen, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani, appearing for one of the respondents in the case, said: “Nobody had the courage to say that there existed one Akbarabadi mosque in Delhi which was demolished by the British in 1857. This happens only when the Congress comes to power.”
“No person can tell this court that his belief is this and for that purpose such thing has to be done. This place is a place where no construction can be permitted. The only body that can do is the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).”
“The ASI issued a notice to the Deputy Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on July 19, 2012 that the unauthorised construction has to be removed,” Jethmalani stated.
The history of the area, according to the petitioner himself, is that it is a 1650-built mosque under the orders of the queen of Shah Jahan. Assuming that a mosque was built there and that the British had demolished the mosque and converted it into a park, now the issue cannot be raked up, senior counsel emphasised.
From 2007, there have been some attempts to say that there was a mosque there, Jethmalani stated.
According to Iqbal, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) came across Akbarabadi antiques and a foundation of the mosque while it was undertaking tunnelling work for its metro rail line from the Central Secretariat to Red Fort, sometime in 2011.
On June 20, 2012, members of the Muslim community gathered at the site, offered prayers and raised a structure. On July 19, the Lt Governor of Delhi ordered the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and the police authorities to stall the construction at the site.
On July 20, senior advocate Aman Lekhi told the Delhi High Court about this construction at the site and the court took cognisance of the matter. On October 19, 2012, in its order, the High Court directed the NDMC to carry out the demolition of the constructed structure.
