The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the religious trust manning Haji Ali Dargah to carry out demolition of encroachment around it while protecting just a mosque that existed on the lease issued by the Dargah Trust in 1931. The court appreciated the voluntary offer by the trust to demolish encroachment of almost 737 sq m and observed that religious institutions must take the lead in coming forward to demolish encroachment.
On February 10 this year, the Bombay High Court had passed an order asking the Haji Ali shrine to demolish the 1931 mosque and the surrounding shops and encroachments situated in an area spread over 908 sq m.
The Trust submitted that the mosque was a necessary part of the shrine and was situated on 171 sqm. Accepting this statement made by the Trust counsel, senior advocate Gopal Subramanium said that if the area of the mosque is spared from demolition, the Trust will on its own surrender the remaining area for demolition to the satisfaction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The Bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar, Justices DY Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, “We are grateful that the management of the Dargah has made this voluntary offer.
Any encroachment on public land must go and people associated with religion must never support encroachment.” The court assured that once the religious bodies decide to take a call against encroachment, all sacred places of worship in the country will become a much more beautiful place for devotees to visit.
Seeking a month’s time for demarcating the 171 square metre and keeping the remaining space for ensuring a free passage to the shrine, Subramanium even undertook to file a beautification plan of the dargah and its surroundings by May 9, the next date of hearing. An affidavit complying with its voluntary offer to clean up encroachments will also be filed on that day.
The Bench said the way to Dargah was “rush and slush” as shops have encroached the passage to the shrine, making it narrow and congested. “Once you (Dargah trust) get the encroachment removed, we promise it will lead to a beautiful approach road to the sacred place.”
Subramanium was quick to read the judges’ mind, particularly since its initial argument to seek more time got rejected after the bench noted how the trust dilly-dallied on repeated notices sent by BMC beginning from 1998. He consulted one of the trust members Osman Vanjara, who was present in court, and made an upfront proposal to the court.
In view of the offer made by the Trust, the Bench restrained the task force from carrying out any demolition and even stopped any court from passing orders staying the demolition action to be carried out by the Trust.