The Race Course mosque in Lutyens’ Delhi will not be demolished for at least the next four weeks, the Centre assured the Delhi High Court on Thursday. But the court declined to order that worshippers be allowed back inside, accepting the government’s argument that the site is unsafe while demolition of other structures around it continues.
What the Centre told the court
Appearing for the Land and Development Office (L&DO), which works under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, standing counsel Ashish Dixit told Justice Anish Dayal that the office would decide a representation filed by the Delhi Waqf Board within four weeks. Until then, he said, no coercive action would be taken against the mosque. The judge recorded the statement in his order.
Dixit made clear that the L&DO would rule only on the Waqf Board’s representation of October 19, and not on a separate one filed by the petitioner. Allowing individual worshippers to approach the department, he argued, would open a “Pandora’s box”, and he questioned whether the petitioner had the standing to bring the case at all. He said the board and the department were trying to work out a solution.
No access for namaz
The petition was filed by Syed Ahmed Saud, a worshipper at the mosque, who wants it protected from demolition and wants entry restored. His plea says that on October 21 he and others were stopped at newly installed iron gates at the entrance to the Race Course compound by security staff.
The Centre said opening the mosque would not be safe because active demolition work was under way, adding that access to a temple on the same premises has also been restricted. Saud’s lawyer, M Sufian Siddiqui, countered that the demolition was already over. Justice Dayal refused to step in.
If somebody gets injured, who is going to pay compensation? Let it go, let them decide.
Justice Anish Dayal, Delhi High Court
The court instead asked the Centre to file a status report, along with photographs of the site, before the next hearing on December 16.
Why the mosque is in dispute
The mosque stands inside the roughly 53-acre Race Course Club area next to the Prime Minister’s official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. The Centre took over the Jaipur Polo Ground in June and the adjoining Delhi Race Club in August for what it has described as a public purpose, and the L&DO is repossessing the wider area. Slum homes of around 700 families there have already been demolished, raising fears that the mosque could be next.
The petitioner says the mosque has been a notified Waqf property since 1977 and is a Grade II heritage structure, so any change to it would need clearance from the Heritage and Conservation Committee. He argues that barring prayers without any notice or order violates the constitutional rights to equality and freedom of religion. Electricity and water supply to the mosque were cut on October 7; the Centre has said this was done to avoid risk to the public during demolition nearby.
What happens next
The Waqf Board’s representation asked for power and water to be restored and flagged the fear of demolition, requesting that the matter be examined on priority. The L&DO’s decision on it, due within four weeks, will now shape the mosque’s fate, with the High Court set to take up the case again in mid-December.
