Delhi HC denies request for Ramzan & Eid prayers at demolished Akhoondji mosque site

The Delhi High Court on Monday, 8 April refused to permit offering prayers during Ramzan and on Eid at the site of the demolished Akhoondji mosque in Mehrauli.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P. S. Arora directed that an appeal by the Muntazmia Committee Madarsa Behrul Ulum and Kabarstan be listed alongside a related matter on 7 May.

The court's decision stemmed from a plea challenging a single judge's order, which dismissed a request to allow devotees access to the mosque site for Ramzan and Eid prayers.

The bench said that no interim order could be granted at this stage, especially considering the single-judge bench's refusal to grant relief nearly a month ago.

The petitioner's counsel urged for immediate action, citing the nearing conclusion of Ramzan and Eid festivities.

The appellant's counsel said that the committee sought no "back-door entry" and invoked precedents such as the Babri Masjid case and the Gyanvapi mosque case, where religious beliefs were respected pending legal disputes.

On 11 March, a single-judge bench denied permission for prayers at the Akhoondji mosque site during Ramzan, citing the court's earlier refusal to allow entry for Shab-e-Barat.

The judge noted that the land, now under the possession of the DDA, was subject to a status quo order pending the legality of the demolition.

The Akhoondji mosque, believed to have stood for over 600 years, was deemed 'illegal' along with the Behrul Uloom madrasa and was demolished by the DDA on 30 January.