Haldwani Mosque-Madrasa Demolition | Uttarakhand HC Seeks State Govt's Reply In 6 Weeks, Posts Matter For Hearing On May 8

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the State Government seeking its response in six weeks on a plea filed challenging the recent demolition of an allegedly 'illegally built' Mosque and Madrasa in the Banbhoolpura area (of Haldwani district) as part of an anti-encroachment drive.

The demolitions sparked a violent confrontation between residents and police in the area, resulting in arson and stone-throwing. The violence that erupted on February 8 has already claimed six lives and left more than 100 people injured, including police and journalists.

Having heard the counsel for the parties including Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid (for the petitioner) and Advocate General SN Babulkar, Chief Standing Counsel CS Rawat and Standing Counsel Gajendra Tripathi (for State of Uttarakhand/respondents), a bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari posted the matter for hearing next on May 8. 

The petition, one Safia Malik, moved the Uttarakhand High Court on February 6 after her husband (Abdul Malik) was served with a notice for the demolition of the mosque and the madrasa on January 30. In her plea, she sought interim relief from the proposed demolitions, however, on February 8, the local authorities carried out the demolitions.

Though the HC did hear the matter on February 8 (before the demolitions were carried out), no order granting relief to the petitioner had been passed by the HC and it only posted the matter for hearing on February 14.

The now demolished structures (Mariyam mosque and the Abdul Razzaq Zakariya madrasa) were built in 2002 in Banbhoolpura's Company Bagh locality and they were being looked after by Abdul Malik and his wife Safia Malik (petitioner in the HC).

Importantly, in her plea, Malik claimed that the land on which the alleged 'illegal' mosque and madrasa were built, had been leased out to her in the year 1937 and sold to her family in the year 1994. A plea to renew the said lease had been pending before the district administration since 2007.

On Wednesday, appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Khurshid argued that she should have been granted 15 days to file a reply in the court before the demolition was carried out in the area. He, however, admitted that since the demolition had already been done, no relief could be granted to the petitioner now.

As per a report of the PTI, during the hearing, Justice Tiwari questioned the petitioner as to how the construction could be carried out at the site when the property in question had been leased out by the government as agricultural land, however, without going into the question of whether the lease was valid or not, the court called for a counter affidavit of the government.

Case title - Safia Malik vs. State of Uttarakhand and others

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