A 400-year-old mosque in Ahmedabad will be demolished for road widening, but the Supreme Court did not grant any relief…

New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the partial demolition of the 400-year-old Mancha Mosque as part of a road widening project in Ahmedabad. The Supreme Court clarified that the municipal corporation was acting in the public interest and that the project involved demolition of the temple, as well as commercial and residential properties.

According to a report, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi refused to accept the lawyer representing the Mancha Mosque Trust’s persistent demand to preserve the mosque’s prayer hall.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, through Aastha Mehta, stated that the Municipal Corporation had clearly stated before the High Court that the road widening project, intended to ease traffic congestion, would only affect a piece of vacant land and a portion of the mosque’s platform.

Mehta also emphasized that the mosque’s main structure would not be affected at all. He drew the Court’s attention to the demolition of a temple and the voluntary surrender of local residents to the Municipal Corporation for road widening in the public interest.

The bench held that this was not a case of violation of religious rights under Article 25. The Waqf Board could only be entitled to compensation for the use of the mosque’s land if it could prove that the land belonged to the Waqf.

You may get more land to build a mosque for prayers, but the High Court is right in holding that the Municipal Corporation had scrupulously followed the provisions of the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act (GPMC Act) when taking a portion of the mosque’s land for road widening.

When the mosque’s lawyer insisted on a court order to protect the place of worship, the bench said, “No such action is proposed. A temple has been demolished, and they have not claimed any compensation. We are saying that if the Waqf Board proves that it is Waqf property, you will be entitled to compensation under the GPMC Act.”

The state government had told the High Court that the road widening in Saraspur was necessary to reduce congestion and promote urban development on the stretch connecting Kalupur railway station and the Ahmedabad Metro.