Budaun Mosque Row: 'Suit Barred By Places Of Worship Act; It's Waqf Property', Masjid Committee Tells Local Court; Next Hearing on Dec 10

In the ongoing Budaun Shamsi Shahi Mosque dispute, the Masjid Committee on Tuesday submitted before a local court that a suit filed seeking permission to worship at the Shamsi Shahi Masjid, claiming that it was NeelKanth Mahadev temple, is barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and that the property in question is a waqf property. The counsel for the Masjid Committee, Anwer Alam, further contended that the plaintiff has never been in possession of the alleged disputed property or any part of it at any point in time. The counsel also emphasised that the mosque has existed for over eight centuries and continues to stand at the site without any hindrance. The submissions were made in connection with an Order 7 Rule 11 CPC plea moved by the Masjid committee challenging the maintainability of the Suit filed by former Hindu Mahasabha convener Mukesh Patel through Advocate Vivek Render. The suit claims that the Neelkanth Mahadev temple once stood at the mosque's site, and the Mughal rulers destroyed the same to construct the current structure, the Shamsi Mosque. The plaintiff also alleges that idols of Lord Neelkanth Mahadev have been installed in the western and southern areas of the site, and that the Shivalinga was disintegrated and buried at the original temple location. Furthermore, it is claimed that many of the stones from the former temple remain in place, and most of the materials from the temple have been reused for the mosque's construction. In their O7 R11 CPC application, the Masjid committee has contended that the plaintiffs have no locus in the matter and that no declaratory relief has been sought by the plaintiff. As such, this Suit for injunction is not maintainable. The Masjid Committee has also argued that since August 15, 1947, and for more than eight centuries prior, the Jama Masjid Shamsi in Budaun (the disputed property) has existed as a mosque, with Muslims regularly performing Namaz and other religious activities without any hindrance. As a result, it has been contended that the suit is barred by the provisions of Sections 3, 5, 7, and other relevant sections of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The matter will now be heard on December 10.

Budaun Mosque Row: 'Suit Barred By Places Of Worship Act; It's Waqf Property', Masjid Committee Tells Local Court; Next Hearing on Dec 10

Sparsh Upadhyay

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