Supreme Court Verdict On Mosque: The Supreme Court has upheld the decision to demolish a mosque in Koyambedu, Chennai. The apex court has accepted that the mosque was built illegally on public land.
On February 26, the Supreme Court upheld the decision in which the High Court had directed to demolish the illegal structure. The Supreme Court has also given a few days’ time for this work.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Vishwanathan considered the construction of the mosque illegal and gave time till May 31 to remove the structures on that land.
What is the matter?
The top court found that despite a notice given by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority on December 9, 2020, the construction of the mosque on public land was completely illegal.
The Supreme Court said that the petitioner has no right to take possession of the land, whether its real owner, the government, is using it or not. The court orally remarked that whether it is a temple or a mosque, unauthorized construction cannot be allowed.
This decision of the Supreme Court came during the hearing of the petition filed by Hyda Muslim Welfare Trust challenging the order of Madras High Court of November last year. Madras High Court had directed to remove the mosque from public land.
Petitioner Trust is an unauthorized occupier- Court
The court said that the petitioner is not the owner of the trust related property. Apart from this the land vests in the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority free from all encumbrances. As a result, the Court concluded that the petitioner Trust was an unauthorized occupier and had never applied for sanctioned building plans.
The bench also said during the hearing that the court had earlier issued orders directing states to stop unauthorized construction on public land, especially in the form of religious structures.
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