00:00Politically contentious report that's come in from Uttar Pradesh.
00:04I want to take you to Saharanpur, where a mosque demolition battle has reached the Ilhamad High Court.
00:09The mosque committee has challenged the UP administration's actions,
00:13alleging that the structure that was demolished,
00:15it was demolished without statutory notice or a formal demolition order.
00:21The petition also alleges violation of the Places of Worship Act 1991.
00:26The All India Muslim Personal Law Board argued that the mosque management should have been given
00:32effective opportunity to approach a superior court before bulldozers moved in.
00:39We'll get you more in this report.
00:46Can faith become a license to defy the law?
00:49Can a religious structure claim immunity simply because it is a place of worship?
00:57Even after a court has upheld that it stood illegally on a government land.
01:01That is the question at the heart of Saharanpur Mosque showed up.
01:07The mosque committee has challenged the demolition in Ilhamad High Court,
01:11alleging that the administration acted without a statutory notice or a formal demolition order.
01:16But here are the facts that preceded the bulldozer action.
01:21On 16th July, city magistrate declared the structure illegal, ordered removal within 30 days.
01:27The mosque committee challenged the order on 20th July,
01:30arguing that the structure predated independence.
01:33On 2nd September, the district judge's court dismissed the appeal and upheld the city magistrate order.
01:39On 4th September, the mosque was sealed, before it was demolished a couple of days later.
01:45Officials said due legal procedure was followed.
01:48The committee's appeal had been dismissed and the demolition was carried out in accordance with the city magistrate's order,
01:54as upheld by the court.
01:57As the rubble was being cleared, a nearly 20-foot deep brick-lined well was discovered underneath.
02:03The structure was photographed and measured.
02:06Soil and brick samples were collected by an ASI team.
02:23The whole India Muslim personal law board has slummed the demolition,
02:27arguing that the mosque management should have been given an effective opportunity to approach a higher court.
02:58AIMIM called it a black day for democracy.
03:22AIMIM called it a black day for the mosque.
03:42And when a Congress delegation tried to reach Saharanpur, the police stopped it.
04:03The opposition calls it bulldozer politics.
04:06The government and administration say this was enforcement of a court-backed order against an illegal structure on government land.
04:14Bureau Report, India Today.
