SC issues notice to Uttar Pradesh officials in mosque demolition case

A bench comprising justices Bhushan R Gavai and AG Masih also restrained the district administration from carrying out any further demolition until the matter is heard next on March 18.

The court noted the petitioners’ claim that the structure in question stood on private land, was sanctioned by municipal authorities in 1999, and that an attempt to revoke the sanction was set aside by the high court nearly two decades ago.

The bench was told by senior counsel Huzefa Ahmadi, representing petitioner Azmatunnisa, one of the people who had reportedly donated land for the construction of the mosque at the site, that a subdivisional magistrate (SDM) inspected the site in December 2024, concluding that the construction was in accordance with the sanctioned plan, and that any unauthorised portion had already been removed by the petitioners.