The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to specify under what legal authority it has the power to seal a place of worship?
The court further inquired: Under which provision of law—if any exists—is it mandatory to obtain prior permission from the state regarding matters concerning a place of worship?
The court was hearing a case regarding the sealing of a mosque under construction in Muzaffarnagar by the administration and the petitioner has sought unsealing of the mosque.
The court also asked the state government whether the law grants it the authority to seal a place of worship that is under construction without issuing any prior notice or granting the petitioner an opportunity to be heard.
The court directed the government counsel to appear at the next hearing with specific instructions from the state government, accompanied by an affidavit.
Through a petition filed in the Allahabad High Court, the petitioner, Ahsan Ali, has sought the removal of the seal placed on the mosque under construction.
This order was issued by a Division Bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddhartha Nandan while hearing Ahsan Ali’s petition on Friday.
In his petition filed before the Allahabad High Court, the petitioner has asserted that he is the lawful owner of Plot No. 780, situated in Village Bhopa, Pargana Bhokarkhedi, Tehsil Jansath, Muzaffarnagar. He acquired this property on September 20, 2019.
The petitioner’s counsel, Jagdish Prasad Mishra, argued before the court that the petitioner was undertaking the construction of a mosque on the purchased property. However, state authorities sealed the property on the grounds that the construction was illegal and that no prior permission had been obtained from the competent authority for the same.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted to the court that prior to the sealing of the premises, the petitioner was neither served with any notice nor granted an opportunity to be heard.
The petitioner has appealed to the court to issue directions to the respondent authorities to remove the seal from the property, to permit the petitioner to carry out construction work thereon, and to allow the use of the premises for worship in accordance with the law.