Won’t allot land to third party: Gujarat to SC on demolitions

The SC was proceeding an entreaty by the Auliya-e-Deen committee challenging the Gujarat High Court’s October 3 judgement and interim bid refusing to nonstop a presumption quo connected the demolitions astatine Prabhas Patan colony adjacent the Somnath temple past month. According to the plea, “around 9 Muslim places of worship and respective graves/ qabars and different structures existing since much than a century…” were “illegally demolished” during the demolition drive.

The committee’s counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal besides claimed that the authorities had spared temples situated connected the onshore and lone targeted the Islamic structures. “The crushed fixed for demolition is that they are adjacent the Arabian Sea and therefore, adjacent a h2o body. Protected monuments were razed to the ground. Can your Lordships imagine?” Sibal contended.

Expressing uncertainty that the onshore whitethorn beryllium transferred to a 3rd party, Sibal referred to a 2015 bid of the District Collector stating that the onshore connected which the thrust was carried retired tin lone beryllium utilised for authorities purposes.

Appearing for different petitioner, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi said helium had documents of onshore allotment dating backmost to 1903 and that a registered Wakf monument was demolished. ‘They (authorities) acted successful a high-handed manner. If determination is allotment of changing of possession…it volition go hard to recover,” helium submitted.

Countering the claims, SG Mehta produced documents that helium said showed the onshore was successful the possession of the Somnath temple spot and submitted that lone those structures recovered illegally encroaching connected nationalist lands were removed. He besides told the tribunal the medication volition enactment lone successful accordance with the District Collector’s bid referred to by Sibal.

Following this, Justice Gavai said, “till adjacent date, fto the possession beryllium with government”.

The SC volition perceive the substance adjacent connected November 11, too a contempt plea filed by the Summast Patni Muslim Jamat Trust. Both pleas allege that the demolition thrust violated the SC’s October 17 bid pausing demolitions crossed the state without its permission.

The SC had connected October 17 successful an interim bid said “there shall beryllium nary demolition anyplace crossed the state without seeking permission of this Court”. However, it excluded “unauthorised operation successful immoderate nationalist spot specified arsenic a road, street, footpath, abutting railway enactment oregon immoderate stream oregon h2o bodies and besides to cases wherever determination is an bid for demolition made by a tribunal of law”.