Can mosque be sealed without notice? Allahabad High Court asks UP authorities

The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government whether it can seal a place of worship without any notice or without affording any opportunity of hearing to the property owners [Ahsan Ali v State of UP and 2 Others]

In an order passed on March 18, a Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan also asked the State to explain under what authority of law it can seal a place of worship.

"Whether there exists any authority under law to seal a place of worship under construction without issuance of prior notice or affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner," the Court asked the State.

Further, the Court also asked whether any prior permission from the State is required when it comes to owners making constructions etc. within the premises of the place of worship.

The Court passed the order on a petition moved by one Ahsan Ali against sealing of a mosque in Muzaffarnagar district.

Ali submitted that he is a lawful owner of a plot of land in a village in Muzaffarnagar. He had purchased the land from one Praveen Kumar Jain in 2019 by way of a duly registered sale deed.

It was submitted that authorities recently sealed the mosque constructed on the land after the owners had started raising a boundary around it. The action was taken on the ground that the construction is illegal and that no prior permission was obtained from the competent authority.

Petitioner'c counsel, advocate Jagdish Prasad Mishra, said that no notice or opportunity of hearing was afforded to him prior to sealing of the premises.

The Court then asked the State to respond to the plea and apprise it about the law under which the action was taken.

"Let specific instructions, supported by an affidavit, be obtained by the State and placed before this Court on the next date of hearing," it ordered.

Following a recent roster change at the High Court, the matter was listed before a Bench of Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Garima Prashad on March 24. However, hearing in the matter could not take place that day.

Since March 23, Justice Sreedharan-led Bench is hearing family court appeals filed in 2021 and thereafter, cases under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act; political pension matters, petitions relating to Human Rights Act, and cases relating to control orders and UP Cooperative Societies Act.

Before the roster change, Justice Sreedharan's Bench had passed seminal orders and rulings in respect of places of worship, particularly the right to hold prayers inside private properties.

[Read Order]