The Supreme Court today declined to pass a status quo order on a demolition drive in Gujarat by which Islamic structures, mosques and houses of Muslims were allegedly illegally demolished in the Gir Somnath district of the State.
A Bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan found that passing an interim order was unnecessary after Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, assured the top court that the land would remain with the government and not be allotted to any third party until further orders.
Mentioning that the Solicitor General (SG) said that until further orders, possession of land shall remain with the government and shall not be allotted to any third party, the bench said that they don’t find necessary that any interim order be passed. The court also clarified that the pendency of present SLP should not be construed as stay on the proceedings and High Court can continue with the matter.
The Supreme Court was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) by the Auliya-E-Deen Committee against a Gujarat High Court order of October 3 that refused to order status quo on the demolition.
Appearing for the Auliya-E-Deen Committee, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal contested the demolition, arguing that the land, which dates back to 1903, was previously registered in the Committee’s name.
The Senior Advocate also argued that the demolitions were carried out in a high-handed manner without proper regard for the legal and historical status of the land. He said that the land was registered under the Waqf Act and questioned how the government could proceed with demolition without resolving ownership.
SG Mehta presented documents indicating that the disputed land was now in possession of the Somnath Trust. He further argued that the petitioner’s claims regarding ownership were misleading, underlining that previous appeals to recognise ownership had been dismissed. He claimed that the government had the legal right to remove what he described as illegal constructions. Consecutively, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal read out an order issued by the district collector, alleging that the demolitions violated this directive.
Justice Gavai requested SG Mehta to confirm the conditions outlined by the collector, emphasising that any use of the land must align with the collector’s guidelines. SG Mehta agreed, affirming that the government would abide by these conditions and that the land would be used for departmental purposes as intended.
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