SC bars Gujarat from allotting land in Gir Somnath demolition case to third party
On September 28, the district authorities demolished nine mosques and shrines near the Somnath temple, allegedly under the pretext of removing encroachments.
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The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Gujarat government from allotting a parcel of land in Gir Somnath district, where Muslim religious sites and residences were demolished allegedly illegally last month, to any third party until further orders, reported The Hindu.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also refused to order status quo on the demolition drive after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state government, assured the court that the land would remain with it and not be given to a third party.
“In this light, we don’t find necessary that any interim order be passed,” the court said, according to Bar and Bench. The bench was hearing a special leave petition filed by the Auliya-E-Deen Committee against a Gujarat High Court order from October 3 that refused to order status quo on the demolition drive.
On September 28, the district authorities demolished nine mosques and shrines in addition to several homes in the Prabhas Patan area near the Somnath temple, allegedly under the pretext of removing encroachments from government land.
Subsequently, a contempt petition was filed by another petitioner, the Summast Patni Muslim Jamat, a trust representing the Patni Muslim community in Prabhas Patan, claiming that the district authorities had illegally bulldozed the Muslim religious sites and residences.
On October 4, the Supreme Court...
