Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With Demolition Of Mayapuri Chowk 'Kali Mata Mandir'

Considering that the religious committee has directed the removal of Kali Mata Mandir at Mayapuri Chowk because it is “unauthorised” and “obstructs the free flow of traffic”, the Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with the demolition of the religious structure to be carried out by the PWD.

Justice Pratibha M .Singh observed that, 

"As per the sketch and the photographs which have been produced today, it is clear to the Court that the temple is on Government land. In fact the footpath for pedestrians as also the road has been encroached by the temple which is not permissible. Further, because of the location of the temple i.e. in the corner of two roads, one main road and one arterial road, the smooth flow of the traffic is bound to be impeded".

The petition was filed by Durga P. Mishra, priest of the temple, for quashing of the minutes of the meeting of the Religious Committee held in March and the notice issued by the PWD in April for demolition of the temple. Admitting that the temple is on public land, the petitioner argued that the temple does not affect the flow of the traffic in the area.

The bench noted that the committee has concluded that the “temple structure is unauthorised” and it is also obstructing the free flow of traffic. Therefore, the committee had directed the removal of the unauthorized religious structure, it added.

The court said it is not inclined to interfere with the demolition of the temple structure. However, the court added that the petitioner is permitted to remove the idols and other religious objects in the temple within one week for the same to be placed in other temples as directed by the Religious Committee.

Ruling that the PWD is free to carry out the demolition and remove the unauthorised construction after May 20, the court said: “No impediment shall be caused by the Petitioner or anyone on behalf of the Petitioner in the same.”

“The local police shall render full assistance in the process in order to maintain law and order,” it added.

In a related development, the High Court last week stayed demolition of an old two storey Hanuman temple situated at Loni road. While issuing notice to the authorities, the court directed the SHO of Gokulpuri police station to file a status report including the status regarding the traffic problems which stated to be arising due to the temple.

Case title: Durga P. Mishra v. Govt of NCT Delhi & anr

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 404

Appearances: Rubal Bansal Maini, Parag Maini,Abhimanyu Chopra, Vikas Maini and Ankit Bana (for petitioner)

Anupam Srivastava, ASC for GNCTD with Ujjwal Malhotra along with Prabhat Srivastava- Assistant Engineer, ( for respondents)

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