The Crossbill News Desk
The removal of a three-foot portion of Ujjain’s Shahi Masjid for a road-widening project triggered tension in the city on Monday, with stone-pelting reported near the site and police using tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The development came as the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench disposed of appeals concerning the mosque after the committee told the court that an agreement had been reached with the Ujjain Municipal Corporation over the removal.
The road-widening work is being undertaken as part of preparations for Simhastha 2028. The municipal corporation plans to widen the road under the city’s master plan, with several structures falling along the proposed alignment. The mosque committee had challenged the proposed removal, arguing that an alternative alignment could be considered instead.
The Indore bench, comprising Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Jai Kumar Pillai, disposed of two appeals after the mosque’s representatives informed the court that the dispute had been settled with the civic body.
The petitioners sought that only three feet of the structure identified as an obstruction be removed and that the corporation honour its assurances relating to Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The bench said the assurances given by the civic body would be binding on the corporation.
The dispute had intensified on Sunday night when residents and members of the Muslim community gathered at the mosque to oppose the proposed removal. Police and municipal teams had arrived with machinery, but the operation was initially held back amid the gathering. Discussions were subsequently held between the administration and mosque representatives, with an understanding emerging that the affected portion would be removed by members of the community themselves.
As the removal process began on Monday, however, the protesters came out to streets to voice their disagreement and dissapointment. The police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd according to reports..
A heavy security deployment was made around the mosque, while CCTV cameras and drones were used to monitor the area.
Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma said the removal of the affected portion was continuing with the consent of the mosque committee and that police had, so far, detained 15 people and registered an FIR against seven.
“The action to remove the affected portion of the mosque is continuing with the consent of the committee. So far, 15 people have been taken into custody and an FIR has been registered against seven people. Social media content creators are also among them. Police are continuously monitoring social media. Action is being taken against those spreading rumours or posting provocative material,” Sharma said told The Indian Express.
The police investigation is now examining social media posts and messages circulated around the dispute, along with CCTV footage and drone recordings from the area, to identify those involved in the stone-pelting and the subsequent confrontation with police in the early hours of Monday.
City Qazi Khalil Qureshi Rehman, who was involved in the discussions with the administration, also appealed to people to stay away from the site.
“The matter of the mosque was resolved that very night (on Sunday) through mutual agreement. There is no such situation that requires anyone to go there. An appeal to all: Do not pay attention to any kind of rumour and unnecessarily leave your homes and go to the spot,” he said, reported The Indian Express.
The Shahi Masjid, described by the mosque’s imam as a 636-year-old structure dating to 1390, had initially faced a proposal to remove a larger portion. The dispute centred on the section falling within the road alignment.
The mosque committee had maintained that the road could instead be widened through an alternative route or by removing structures on the opposite side.
The High Court had earlier, on September 9, dismissed petitions challenging the road-widening exercise. It held that the municipal corporation had followed the required legal procedure and noted that the project was linked to traffic management and preparations for Simhastha 2028. The court also noted that portions of other religious structures had been affected by the wider road-widening exercise.
The civic body had further assured the court that land acquired for the road project would be compensated through FAR and TDR benefits rather than direct cash compensation.
Under TDR, development rights can be used on another property or transferred or sold to another developer. The mosque committee sought strict implementation of these assurances, which the division bench directed the corporation to follow. (India Today)
With the court proceedings now disposed of and the agreed three-foot portion removed, the road-widening project is set to proceed.
The police, meanwhile, are continuing to monitor the area and investigate the violence and social media activity surrounding Monday’s confrontation.
The development came as the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench disposed of appeals concerning the mosque after the committee told the court that an agreement had been reached with the Ujjain Municipal Corporation over the removal.
The road-widening work is being undertaken as part of preparations for Simhastha 2028. The municipal corporation plans to widen the road under the city’s master plan, with several structures falling along the proposed alignment. The mosque committee had challenged the proposed removal, arguing that an alternative alignment could be considered instead.
The Indore bench, comprising Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Jai Kumar Pillai, disposed of two appeals after the mosque’s representatives informed the court that the dispute had been settled with the civic body.
The petitioners sought that only three feet of the structure identified as an obstruction be removed and that the corporation honour its assurances relating to Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The bench said the assurances given by the civic body would be binding on the corporation.
The dispute had intensified on Sunday night when residents and members of the Muslim community gathered at the mosque to oppose the proposed removal. Police and municipal teams had arrived with machinery, but the operation was initially held back amid the gathering. Discussions were subsequently held between the administration and mosque representatives, with an understanding emerging that the affected portion would be removed by members of the community themselves.
As the removal process began on Monday, however, the protesters came out to streets to voice their disagreement and dissapointment. The police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd according to reports..
A heavy security deployment was made around the mosque, while CCTV cameras and drones were used to monitor the area.
Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma said the removal of the affected portion was continuing with the consent of the mosque committee and that police had, so far, detained 15 people and registered an FIR against seven.
“The action to remove the affected portion of the mosque is continuing with the consent of the committee. So far, 15 people have been taken into custody and an FIR has been registered against seven people. Social media content creators are also among them. Police are continuously monitoring social media. Action is being taken against those spreading rumours or posting provocative material,” Sharma said told The Indian Express.
The police investigation is now examining social media posts and messages circulated around the dispute, along with CCTV footage and drone recordings from the area, to identify those involved in the stone-pelting and the subsequent confrontation with police in the early hours of Monday.
City Qazi Khalil Qureshi Rehman, who was involved in the discussions with the administration, also appealed to people to stay away from the site.
“The matter of the mosque was resolved that very night (on Sunday) through mutual agreement. There is no such situation that requires anyone to go there. An appeal to all: Do not pay attention to any kind of rumour and unnecessarily leave your homes and go to the spot,” he said, reported The Indian Express.
The Shahi Masjid, described by the mosque’s imam as a 636-year-old structure dating to 1390, had initially faced a proposal to remove a larger portion. The dispute centred on the section falling within the road alignment.
The mosque committee had maintained that the road could instead be widened through an alternative route or by removing structures on the opposite side.
The High Court had earlier, on September 9, dismissed petitions challenging the road-widening exercise. It held that the municipal corporation had followed the required legal procedure and noted that the project was linked to traffic management and preparations for Simhastha 2028. The court also noted that portions of other religious structures had been affected by the wider road-widening exercise.
The civic body had further assured the court that land acquired for the road project would be compensated through FAR and TDR benefits rather than direct cash compensation.
Under TDR, development rights can be used on another property or transferred or sold to another developer. The mosque committee sought strict implementation of these assurances, which the division bench directed the corporation to follow. (India Today)
With the court proceedings now disposed of and the agreed three-foot portion removed, the road-widening project is set to proceed.
The police, meanwhile, are continuing to monitor the area and investigate the violence and social media activity surrounding Monday’s confrontation.
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