SC Orders Mosque to be Removed from Allahabad HC Premises

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered authorities to remove a mosque from the premises of the Allahabad High Court. As per the apex court order, this mosque has to be removed from the High Court premises within three months.

The petitioners, Waqf Masjid High Court and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, had challenged a November 2017 Allahabad High Court order, which had given them three months to move the mosque out of the premises. The Supreme Court told the petitioners that the structure stood on a terminated lease property and they can’t claim it as a matter of right to continue. Their plea was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar, however, allowed the petitioners to make a representation to the Uttar Pradesh government for allotment of land nearby for the mosque.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the management committee of the mosque, said the mosque has been there since the 1950s and it cannot be just asked to move out.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the high court, said that this was a case of complete fraud.