180-Yr-Old Fatehpur Noori Mosque Committee Moves Allahabad HC Against UP Govt's Proposed Demolition Action
The Management Committee of 180-year-old Noori Jama Masjid (of Fatehpur) has approached the Allahabad High Court challenging the UP Government Public Works Department's proposed action to demolish a vital part of #Mosque for the purposes of road widening. The petition, which will be heard tomorrow before a bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Vipin Chandra Dixit, prays for...
The Management Committee of 180-year-old Noori Jama Masjid (of Fatehpur) has approached the Allahabad High Court challenging the UP Government Public Works Department's proposed action to demolish a vital part of #Mosque for the purposes of road widening.
The petition, which will be heard tomorrow before a bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Vipin Chandra Dixit, prays for HC's urgent intervention to prevent the demolition of Noori Jama Masjid and ensure its recognition and protection as a heritage site.
The plea states that the demolition of the Masjid would cause irreparable harm, both to the local community and to the nation's cultural heritage. Unlike movable assets, historical structures cannot be restored to their original form once they are demolished, the plea argues.
“…the proposed demolition infringes upon the fundamental rights of the Petitioner and the local community, as enshrined in the Constitution…the mosque is a place of worship and an essential part of the community's religious practice. Arbitrary demolition without due process undermines the freedom to practice and propagate religion,” the plea states.
The Management Committee of 180-year-old Noori Jama Masjid (of Fatehpur) has approached the #AllahabadHighCourt challenging the @UPGovt PW Department's proposed action to #demolish a vital part of #Mosque for the purposes of road widening. pic.twitter.com/R3D0Nmk3hE
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) December 5, 2024
The Noori Jama Masjid, situated in Village Lalauli of District Fatehpur, is a 180-year-old mosque built in the architectural style prevalent at the time. According to the petitioner, it has historically served as a religious, cultural, and social hub for the local Muslim community and continues to function as a place of worship and cultural preservation.
The writ petition challenges the trespass notice served to the Mosque committee as well as the PW Department's act of marking a 40-foot area on both sides of NH 335 for about 2 km, including a 150-square-foot section of Noori Jama Masjid, for demolition under the guise of road widening.
The plea, moved through advocate Syed Azeem Uddin, prays that the UP Government be directed not to take any action pursuant to the tress notice it issued to the Mosque.
The plea also prays a direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to consider and decide a representation moved before it praying that the Noori Jama Masjid be declared a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.