Three illegal shrines in Panchkula resist demolition, move court

Hindustan Times

6 days ago

Despite Supreme Court orders and contempt notices from the Punjab and Haryana high court, the demolition of illegal religious structures on public land in Panchkula remains stalled. After being served notices to vacate around 30 marla of encroached government land, caretakers of three major shrines have initiated legal action against civic authorities. (iStock)
After being served notices to vacate around 30 marla of encroached government land, caretakers of three major shrines have initiated legal action against civic authorities.
The Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA) on July 8 had issued show-cause notices to the caretakers of three shrines—Nau Gaza Peer dargah on the Sector 5/7 dividing road, Sultan Mohammad Khan dargah in Sector 3 and Jahar Veer Goga Ji temple in Sector 21—asking them to vacate green belt land and remove unauthorised structures.
Two of these shrines are located near the Zirakpur-Kalka highway.
In response, the caretakers have moved court, challenging the eviction notices.
Firoz Khan, caretaker of the Nau Gaza Peer dargah, has filed a civil suit under the Specific Relief Act, against the state of Haryana, HSVP, PMDA, district town planner and land acquisition collector.
Khan has sought a stay on demolition, citing lawful occupancy of the 6-marla plot for over 200 years, attaching supporting documents like land records and electricity bills.
HSVP responded that their action complies with the apex court and high court directives, alleging illegal occupation of government land.
The court, on July 16, did not grant interim relief, but sought replies from the state and civic authorities by October 24.
Caretakers of the other two shrines have filed petitions in the high court, with the next hearing scheduled for July 28.
The petitioners argue that the Haryana government in 2010 had framed a policy to regularise pre-2009 religious structures, following a Supreme Court directive, but this policy was not widely circulated.
They have demanded that PMDA's orders be held in abeyance as decisions on their regularisation applications, filed with the estate office and PMDA, are still pending.
Advocate Karundeep Chaudhary, counsel for the Sultan Mohammad Khan dargah, said the shine was served an eviction order from the then NHAI estate officer in 1996 as well. But the order was quashed by a high court division bench in 1998.
The court had directed the estate officer to re-decide the matter afresh, ensuring a fair hearing for all affected parties.
Officials said most smaller illegal religious structures in the city had already been removed and only these three major ones remained. The Panchkula administration, along with the states of Haryana and Punjab, and UT Chandigarh, have to file their reply in the high court regarding their actions on such illegal religious structures in an ongoing case.