Shimla’s long-drawn Sanjauli mosque dispute witnessed an unexpected turn on Monday when the Waqf Board withdrew its petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court moments before the crucial hearing on whether its appeal was even maintainable. The matter was listed before a division bench for arguments after the Board challenged the district judge’s October 30 order, which had upheld the Municipal Commissioner’s directive for the demolition of the entire five-storey mosque structure in Sanjauli.
The counsel for the Waqf Board, B.S. Thakur, sought the court’s permission to withdraw the appeal, stating that the board intended to amend its petition. The Bench allowed the withdrawal, effectively resetting a case that has stretched over sixteen years, drawn more than fifty hearings and seen shifting positions by various parties at different stages of litigation.
The district court, in its earlier verdict, had concluded that the construction stood on government land and lacked mandatory permissions, making both the Waqf Board and the Mosque Committee jointly accountable. Significantly, the board was brought into the proceedings at a later stage after the Shimla Municipal Commissioner had already found the three upper floors unauthorised. When Municipal Commissioner Bhupinder Atri later examined the matter afresh, he rejected the board’s review plea and ruled that the entire structure violated municipal bylaws, paving the way for a comprehensive demolition order.
The board’s appeal filed on November 28 was its latest attempt to contest the district court’s findings. However, Monday’s withdrawal indicates a recalibration in strategy, possibly aimed at addressing procedural gaps flagged in earlier hearings. With the high court yet to examine any substantive arguments on the legality of the structure, the status of the remaining portion of the Sanjauli mosque remains unresolved.
As the dispute enters yet another phase, the next steps of the Waqf Board—whether it seeks to re-file, amend, or entirely reshape its petition—will determine how the case progresses. For now, the legal battle stands paused even as the shadow of the demolition order continues to hang over the mosque structure.
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