On alleged encroachment by Hazrat Bhure Shah Dargah near Nizamuddin, HC seeks final stance from Waqf Board
The High Court on Monday granted the Delhi Waqf Board the last opportunity to file a synopsis explaining its stance in a petition seeking restoration of the demolished structure around the nearly 500-year-old Hazrat Bhure Shah Dargah near Nizamuddin in Delhi.
Justice Sachin Datta granted the Delhi Waqf Board a final opportunity to make its stance clear in a written synopsis and posted the matter for further consideration on May 13.
In a petition by Yusuf Baig, mutawalli (who acts as a supervisor or manager) of the Dargah, situated at Amir Khusro Park opposite Masjid Chakkar Wali, Neela Gumbad, it has been contended that the shrine is 500 years old, and that the dargah as well as the land around it was notified as Waqf land in the Delhi gazette on December 30, 1976. According to the petitioner, PWD demolished a structure of the shrine on April 1, 2023, in preparation for the G20 Summit, without any prior notice.
Baig has contended that during the Asian Games held in 1982-83, a flyover was constructed on the way commencing from Neela Gumbad to India Gate, and during that process, some portion of the Dargah was used to make the road wider, which runs alongside the shrine. A pavement was also constructed during that time, leading to the shrine.
It is Baig's case that PWD has 'wrongly and falsely' asserted that the said shrine is a hindrance towards the use of pavement and 'no question arises of encroachment upon public land/footpath.'
Baig has also contended that the existence of Dargah Bhure Shah 'cannot be termed as encroachment or unauthorised construction upon the public land as the same has been in existence for approximately 500 years and out of the purview of the religious committee of the Delhi government'.
Noting that a circular dated May 5, 2014, issued by the Delhi government permits demolition of only those religious structures on public land that may be viewed as encroachment, Baig has contended that the shrine has not been treated as encroachment upon public land.
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