NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Saturday told the Delhi High Court that it will not take a call on demolition of the Sunehri Bagh mosque till January 8.
The municipal corporation had on December 24 proposed to demolish the heritage structure, due to the alleged traffic congestion in the area. The Imam of the mosque, Abdul Aziz, had moved Delhi High Court against the NDMC proposal.
The NDMC on Saturday assured a vacation bench of Justice Manoj Jain that nothing would happen to the mosque till January 8 next year, as a final call on the action has to be taken by the Heritage Conservation Committee. Subsequently, Justice Jain listed the matter for further hearing on January 8.
Meanwhile, the NDMC has sought suggestions from people by January 1 regarding the demolition of the mosque.
Vehemently opposing the NDMC decision, the Imam’s lawyer told the high court that the law did not give power to the municipal corporation to remove a heritage structure like the Sunehri Bagh mosque.
The court also questioned the Imam’s locus standi in approaching the HC. It asked him whether it would not be better for him to file the petition with the Delhi Waqf Board.
The Imam’s counsel replied that he filed the petition in the HC to protect the congregation, as the Sunehri Bagh mosque is a functioning mosque.
The petitioner further pleaded that the mosque is more than 150 years old, and a heritage building symbolic of the cultural legacy of Lutyen’s Delhi.
He also told the court that the traffic in the area is regulated. Barricades are put up in the area whenever they were required, and there has been no complaint of any resistance from neither the worshippers nor the public regarding the traffic nuisance.
The petitioner argued the traffic congestion, if any, is contributed by the many government buildings in the area — Vayu Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan Metro Station — and not by the Sunehri Bagh Masjid as alleged by the NDMC and traffic police.