Teele Wali Masjid: Waqf Board seeks transfer of case

The Sunni Central Waqf Board has sought the transfer of the 'Lakshman Teela case' from the civil courts to the Waqf Tribunal for further hearing, arguing that the Teele Wali Masjid in Lucknow is a Waqf property and thus falls under the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The petitioner to the civil court, Nripendra Pandey, has sought a survey of the Teele Wali Masjid, claiming it is the 'Lakshman Teela' constructed by Lakshman, the younger brother of Lord Ram in the Ramayana.

An application seeking a survey of the Teele Wali Masjid by a court-appointed commissioner was first filed in 2013.

However, in this recent instance, as the Sunni Central Waqf Board was not carrying a certified copy of the document to prove their contention that Teele Wali Masjid was a Waqf property, it had sought time from the court to submit relevant papers.

Allowing time for the respondent, the civil court judge (junior division) Abhishek Gupta has fixed 15 March as the date of next hearing.

Advocate Nripendra Pandey, the petitioner, who appeared in person before the court, claimed that this was a civil case. Whether or not the mosque was a Waqf property would have no bearing on the case, he argued.

The petitioner had urged the court to allow a survey of the mosque campus, especially the area that was annexed by the mosque committee in 2013 by erecting a boundary wall.

In another case related to the Teele Wali Masjid, the court of additional district judge on 28 February 2024 rejected a revision petition from the Muslim parties challenging a junior court's order on the maintainability of a civil suit seeking rights to offer prayers at the Lord Shesh Nagesh Teeleshwar Mahadev Mandir.

This mandir is said to be situated in the compound of the Teele Wali Masjid, on the banks of the Gomti river in the Uttar Pradesh state capital.

Maulana Kari Sayyed Shah Fazlul Mannan had filed the civil revision petition, challenging the order passed on 6 September 2023 by the civil judge (south), who had ordered that the suit of the Hindu parties was maintainable.

Advocate Nripendra Pandey filed the suit in court on 15 February 2023, seeking permission to offer prayers at the Lord Shesh Nagesh Teeleshwar Mahadev Mandir.