The Crossbill News Desk
A fresh dispute over alleged encroachment involving a mosque has emerged in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, where the authorities have given the management of Ziaul Uloom Mosque in Tambaur seven days to remove structures from a plot claimed to be government and Gram Sabha land.
The notice comes amid a series of demolition drives and eviction notices targeting mosques and madrasas in Uttar Pradesh and other states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Issued by Revenue Department official Inspector Sundar Lal Rastogi of Laharpur Tehsil, the notice was received on Wednesday (October 7) by Maulana Shahid Ali, manager/mutawalli of Ziaul Uloom. It concerns plot number 541 in village Ahmedabad, Pargana Tambaur, where around 0.03180 hectares is recorded as graveyard land. The administration alleges that permanent shops and the mosque have been constructed on government and Gram Sabha property.
The notice states that the alleged encroachment must be removed within seven days, failing which the administration will initiate action under the applicable rules and recover the expenses as land revenue.
The action has been initiated while a dispute over the property remains before the courts. Records of the Allahabad High Court show that Maulana Shahid Ali and Waqf Madrasa Ziaul Uloom filed Writ-C No. 3339 of 2026, challenging an order dated January 16 under Section 67 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006, as well as a subsequent appellate order dated February 20. The latest notice has therefore added a new development to a dispute in which the parties continue to contest the claims over the land.
The Sitapur case comes against the backdrop of similar action against Muslim religious structures in several places in recent months, with the authorities citing alleged encroachment, unauthorised construction or infrastructure projects.
In Saharanpur, a mosque more than 100 years old inside the Collectorate complex was demolished on September 5 under heavy police deployment, days after a local court declared it an illegal encroachment. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Madani called it a “serious blow to justice and due process,” questioning how the administration could be both a party to the land dispute and the enforcing authority.
In Moradabad, the Development Authority issued a notice in late August or September to Mustafa Mosque in the Pakbara area, describing the nearly 300-square-metre structure on Delhi Road as unauthorised under Section 27 of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. The management was given 15 days to demolish it, prompting concerns that the action in Saharanpur could be followed by similar measures elsewhere.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, part of the boundary wall and a minaret of the historic Shahi Mosque were demolished on September 28-29 as part of road-widening work ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh Mela. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had refused to stay the municipal action on September 9, citing “larger public interest.”
The demolition was followed by protests, tear gas and stone-pelting, with more than 2,500 personnel deployed. The mosque committee was subsequently made to agree to demolish three feet of the structure itself. “We demolished it with our own hands. It hurts us deeply,” a committee member said.
Other cases have surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal and Siddharthnagar districts. In Waris Nagar, Chandausi, authorities inspected a mosque and 34 nearby houses for possible demolition, citing alleged encroachment on municipal land. In Siddharthnagar, portions of a nearly 60-year-old madrasa and mosque were demolished over alleged encroachment.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have alleged that the actions form part of a broader pattern of targeting Muslim religious structures. The Congress and Samajwadi Party have also claimed that the drives are intended to polarise voters ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for early 2027.
“These religious structures are over 100 years old, when no such regulations existed. Structures associated with other communities will also fail the yardstick, but those linked with the Muslim community are being singled out,” said Congress national secretary Shahnawaz Alam.
There have also been instances in which protests and representations have led to official action being withdrawn. In Varanasi, authorities revoked an eviction notice issued to the historic Ganj Shaheedan Mosque, which the community says is around 1,000 years old.
For the management of Ziaul Uloom Mosque in Tambaur, the immediate challenge is to respond to the seven-day notice while the underlying land dispute remains contested.
The case also raises wider questions about the application of due process, Waqf law and the Supreme Court’s guidelines against “bulldozer justice”, with rights groups questioning whether the same standards are being applied across communities.
The notice comes amid a series of demolition drives and eviction notices targeting mosques and madrasas in Uttar Pradesh and other states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Issued by Revenue Department official Inspector Sundar Lal Rastogi of Laharpur Tehsil, the notice was received on Wednesday (October 7) by Maulana Shahid Ali, manager/mutawalli of Ziaul Uloom. It concerns plot number 541 in village Ahmedabad, Pargana Tambaur, where around 0.03180 hectares is recorded as graveyard land. The administration alleges that permanent shops and the mosque have been constructed on government and Gram Sabha property.
The notice states that the alleged encroachment must be removed within seven days, failing which the administration will initiate action under the applicable rules and recover the expenses as land revenue.
The action has been initiated while a dispute over the property remains before the courts. Records of the Allahabad High Court show that Maulana Shahid Ali and Waqf Madrasa Ziaul Uloom filed Writ-C No. 3339 of 2026, challenging an order dated January 16 under Section 67 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006, as well as a subsequent appellate order dated February 20. The latest notice has therefore added a new development to a dispute in which the parties continue to contest the claims over the land.
The Sitapur case comes against the backdrop of similar action against Muslim religious structures in several places in recent months, with the authorities citing alleged encroachment, unauthorised construction or infrastructure projects.
In Saharanpur, a mosque more than 100 years old inside the Collectorate complex was demolished on September 5 under heavy police deployment, days after a local court declared it an illegal encroachment. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Madani called it a “serious blow to justice and due process,” questioning how the administration could be both a party to the land dispute and the enforcing authority.
In Moradabad, the Development Authority issued a notice in late August or September to Mustafa Mosque in the Pakbara area, describing the nearly 300-square-metre structure on Delhi Road as unauthorised under Section 27 of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. The management was given 15 days to demolish it, prompting concerns that the action in Saharanpur could be followed by similar measures elsewhere.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, part of the boundary wall and a minaret of the historic Shahi Mosque were demolished on September 28-29 as part of road-widening work ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh Mela. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had refused to stay the municipal action on September 9, citing “larger public interest.”
The demolition was followed by protests, tear gas and stone-pelting, with more than 2,500 personnel deployed. The mosque committee was subsequently made to agree to demolish three feet of the structure itself. “We demolished it with our own hands. It hurts us deeply,” a committee member said.
Other cases have surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal and Siddharthnagar districts. In Waris Nagar, Chandausi, authorities inspected a mosque and 34 nearby houses for possible demolition, citing alleged encroachment on municipal land. In Siddharthnagar, portions of a nearly 60-year-old madrasa and mosque were demolished over alleged encroachment.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have alleged that the actions form part of a broader pattern of targeting Muslim religious structures. The Congress and Samajwadi Party have also claimed that the drives are intended to polarise voters ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for early 2027.
“These religious structures are over 100 years old, when no such regulations existed. Structures associated with other communities will also fail the yardstick, but those linked with the Muslim community are being singled out,” said Congress national secretary Shahnawaz Alam.
There have also been instances in which protests and representations have led to official action being withdrawn. In Varanasi, authorities revoked an eviction notice issued to the historic Ganj Shaheedan Mosque, which the community says is around 1,000 years old.
For the management of Ziaul Uloom Mosque in Tambaur, the immediate challenge is to respond to the seven-day notice while the underlying land dispute remains contested.
The case also raises wider questions about the application of due process, Waqf law and the Supreme Court’s guidelines against “bulldozer justice”, with rights groups questioning whether the same standards are being applied across communities.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment