Gareeb Nawaz Mosque Demolition: Allahabad High Court stays arrest of Masjid Committee members charged of forging mosque documents

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court today stayed the arrest of Masjid Committee members against whom an FIR was filed for allegedly forging the documents of the Gareeb Nawaz Mosque, which was demolished earlier this month (Mushtaq Ali & Ors v. State of UP)..A Division Bench of Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Ajai Kumar Srivastava said that no coercive action should be taken against the petitioners. The State has been granted three weeks to file its counter affidavit. The order states,"In the meantime, it is provided that until a police report under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. is filed, the petitioners shall not be subjected to any coercive measures. It is made clear that the petitioners shall co-operate with the investigation and shall not evade their presence as and when called for.".On May 17, a mosque in the Ram Sanehi Ghat tehsil in Uttar Pradesh was demolished by an administrative order. The mosque, famously known as the Gareeb Nawaz Masjid, was razed after authorities deemed it an illegal structure. The Masjid Committee was in charge of the affairs of the mosque..An FIR was subsequently registered against President of the Committee, Mushtaq Ali; Vice-President Waqeel Ahmad; Secretary Mohamad Aneesh; and Dastageer, Afzaal Mohammad Naseem, along with Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board Inspector Mohammad Taha, prompting them to approach the High Court for relief..The demolition of the Mosque amid the COVID-19 pandemic, despite express orders by the High Court to halt demolition activities during this period, raised many an eyebrow. Let us attempt to decode the history and legal aspects of the dispute..The following are the chain of events revolving around the dispute..The 2016 Lavkush case.In 2016, a petition was filed before the Allahabad High Court alleging that that the respondents were encroaching upon a public pathway by constructing a religious structure (temple).The petitioners asked the Court to issue appropriate directions to remove such construction that encroach on public roads (including highways), streets and pathways etc..The Division Bench of Justices Sudhir Agarwal and Rakesh Srivastava issued the following directions in that case:(i) Directions on illegal structuresThe State was directed to issue a general direction to all authorities to maintain roads (including highways) across the State and to ensure that no religious structure, in any form whatsoever, be allowed to be raised on a public road.(ii) Demolition of such structures erected post 2011The Court said that if any such structure is existing and has been raised on or after January 1, 2011, the same shall be removed forthwith.On the other hand, the Court said that if any such religious structure has been constructed encroaching upon public road before January 1, 2011, a direction shall be issued to shift the structure to a private land offered by beneficiaries of such religious structures or persons responsible for its management, or to remove it, within six months.(iii) Disobedience would amount to criminal contemptThe Court warned that any disobedience of its orders shall be treated as deliberate and intentional disobedience and would amount to criminal contempt..Apprehension raised by Masjid Committee.On March 18 this year, a petition was filed by the members of the Masjid Committee challenging the notice issued by the local administration which eventually led to the May 17 demolition of the Mosque.The petitioners challenged the notice citing the Lavkush judgment, particularly the direction that called for a scheme to shift structures erected before January 2011 to private land offered by the beneficiaries of such religious structures or persons responsible for their management.While hearing the plea, the Court remarked that the notice has been issued “only to solicit the evidence/the documentary evidence and not for demolition.” Thus, it was observed that the apprehension of the petitioner as regards demolition was unfounded.Accordingly, the petition was disposed of by the Court with the following direction:“The petitioners shall be permitted to file reply to the said notice dated 15th March, 2021 within 15 days from today, in addition to the reply already filed by them. Once any reply is filed, the matter shall be considered by the authorities concerned and a fresh decision thereon shall be taken.”.Stay on demolitions imposed by the Allahabad High Court.In view of the COVID-19 situation, the Allahabad High Court recalled its order passed during the first wave of the pandemic last year. The Court, among other things, directed the following"That any orders of eviction, dispossession or demolition, already passed by the High Court, District Court or Civil Court, if not executed till the date of passing of this order shall remain in abeyance for the period till 31.05.2021. That the State Government, Municipal Authorities, other Local Bodies and agencies and instrumentalities of the State Government shall be slow in taking action of demolition and eviction of persons till 31.05.2021..Order issued by local authorities.The local administration (District Magistrate, Barabanki) initiated proceedings on April 3 this year, eventually leading to the demolition of the Mosque.As per the order, the local authorities alleged that on March 19, at around 7:30 pm, a mob of 100-150 people gathered and started pelting stones at the residents of Deputy Collector of Ram Sanehi Ghat. This prompted the DM to act under Section 133 (conditional order for removal of nuisance) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)..The order also mentions that the use of electricity by the Mosque was illegal. It is mentioned that an FIR was lodged on a complaint by a delegate of the Electricity Distribution Board of Ram Sanehi Ghat. It was alleged that the structure was illegal..The order also stated that the explanation received from the Electricity Board and the Chief Management Officer of the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, Lucknow did not clarify or strengthen the proof of establishment of the structure. Hence, the DM gave the green signal for the removal of the structure. Incidentally, the order cites the directions issued in the Lavkush case as the rationale behind the decision..Aftermath of the demolition.The Gareeb Nawaz Mosque was demolished on May 17, following an administrative order. The Sunni Waqf Board condemned this action, stating that as per the Lavkush case, the High Court had directed that for those monuments built before 2011, a detailed plan should be implemented to given an alternative land to the said structure.In its statement, the Board said that it would file a petition before the Allahabad High Court demanding a judicial inquiry into the said demolition. The Board termed the demolition as a “patently illegal and high-handed action” and demanded the restoration of the Gareeb Nawaz Mosque..FIR against the members of the Masjid Committee.Following the events, an FIR was registered against members of the Masjid Committee as well as the Board.It was alleged in the FIR that these persons formed the Committee and on January 5, 2019, got the said structure registered as a Waqf property, through fraud and cheating. Further, it was contended these people were illegally occupying the land and forging the documents.“The structure is within the Ramsanehi Ghar tehsil and is opposite the SDM residence and these facts have come to light in a probe done by Tehsildar, Ramsnehi Ghat,” reads the complaint.The FIR was registered under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly using as genuine a forged document) and 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc) of the Indian Penal Code, which is punishable with imprisonment for life..Before the High Court, counsel for the petitioners, Advocate Aftab Ahmad submitted that the said FIR does not specifically mention any public document that has either been forged or manipulated by the petitioners in any manner.It was also submitted that the demolished Mosque was registered as a Waqf property, whose rights were protected under a previous order of the High Court in the Lavkush case.On the other hand, the Additional Government Advocate opposed the maintainability of the writ petition and said that it fails to clarify as to what documents specifically were forged by the petitioners..For now, the Court has stayed the arrest of the petitioners and will hear the matter after the government files its rejoinder..[Read orders].(Lavkush & Ors v. State of UP).(Masjid Gareeb Nawaz v. State of UP).(In Re v. State of Uttar Pradesh)