Uttarkashi Mosque Dispute
Uttarkashi Mosque Dispute has been talk of the town since last one week. Let’s catch the full fact about the same.
In a noteworthy development is that the continuing agitation by Hindu groups calling for the demolition of a 55-year-old mosque in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district has reached the Nainital High Court.
A division bench consisted of Justice Rakesh Thapliyal and Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari heard a case-related petition on Friday. The court stressed the need of preserving peace and security in the area in its directives to the state administration and the director general of police after the hearings.
What did Attorneys Say
Senior attorneys for the petitioners, Dr. Kartikey Hari Gupta, Imran Ali Khan, Pallavi Bahuguna, Rafat Munir Ali, and Irum Zeba, expressed grave concerns over hate speech against Muslims at a hearing before the High Court’s division bench on Friday.
According to their argument, “the members of the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and their associates have engaged in extreme hate speech against Muslims and the mosque,” which is against the rulings made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India Others case.
‘Alpsankhayak Seva Samiti’ has filed a writ petition, claiming that “the Jama Masjid on Bhatwari Road in Uttarkashi was constructed in 1969 on privately purchased land.” The petition further claims that “In 1986, the Assistant Waqf Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh conducted an inquiry and confirmed that a mosque existed on Khasra No. 2223, built by members of the Muslim community using charitable funds.”
Related to Uttarkashi Mosque Dispute, the Waqf Commissioner’s report also confirmed to the fact that “the mosque is actively used by the Sunni community.”
The Jama Masjid on Bhatwari Road was formally recognized as a Waqf property in 1987, according to the petitioners. However, the leaders of the Hindu outfit, who claim to be from the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Jitendra Singh Chauhan, Swami Darshan Bharti, Sonu Singh Negi, Lakhpat Singh Bhandari, and Anuj Walia, started threatening to demolish the mosque in September 2024.
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Contentions of Petitioners
According to the petitioners, these leaders have engaged in hate speech against the Muslim community and disseminated misleading information regarding the mosque’s legitimacy.
The Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh is spearheading a larger movement to demolish the mosque, which is situated at the foot of Varunavat Mountain, as a result of the controversies surrounding it. In support of their cause, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has also declared that they will host a Mahapanchayat on December 1.
Advocate Imran Ali Khan told TNIE, “We have pleaded before the court citing a Supreme Court ruling in which the Supreme Court has directed that the state authorities shall take suo motu action against the perpetrators of hate speech and register a case under Sections 196 and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) in any case of hate speech, even if there is no complainant. It will be deemed contempt of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India if the state authority does not file a complaint against hate speech.
Violence has already resulted from the problem. Tensions erupted, resulting in stone-throwing and police baton charges during a rally on October 24. Nine police officers were among the 27 injured in the incident. Authorities responded by naming eight suspects and filing a formal complaint against 200 unnamed people. The district judge’s court granted bail to three important organizers after they were arrested.
