The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Centre and civic authorities over the future of Qadeemi Masjid at Krishi Bhawan, after redevelopment tender drawings appeared to omit the over-100-year-old structure from the proposed building plan.
Justice Anish Dayal issued notice to the Central government, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the North Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Waqf Board. The authorities have been asked to respond within four weeks to a petition filed by the mosque’s caretaking committee.
The petition expresses concern that the mosque could be removed as part of the redevelopment of Krishi Bhawan and Shashi Bhawan for Common Central Secretariat buildings 4 and 5. The CPWD, which operates under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, floated the construction tender on January 19.
According to the petition, Qadeemi Masjid does not appear in the list of structures proposed for removal. However, it is also absent from detailed drawings attached to the tender for the new building. The petition describes this as an apparent inconsistency and has asked the authorities to clarify how the mosque will be treated before any irreversible action is taken.
The mosque is not listed as a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India. It does, however, appear in a list of Waqf properties published in the Delhi Administration’s Gazette in 1970.
The caretaking committee has asked the High Court to restrain the Centre, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the CPWD and the NDMC from demolishing or removing the mosque. If retaining it at its current location is found to be genuinely unavoidable or incompatible with the approved redevelopment plan, the petition seeks a reasonable, proximate and adequate alternative prayer facility.
The petition states that government employees at Krishi Bhawan and neighbouring Central government offices have used the mosque for prayers since Independence and through subsequent decades. It describes the site as an established prayer facility for people required to remain at or near their workplaces during working hours.
The committee has also stated that there is no comparable mosque in the immediate vicinity for employees to use during working hours. It has clarified that it is not seeking to question, obstruct or delay the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, but wants continued access to a suitable place of worship if the existing structure cannot be retained.
The court’s notice places the responsibility for clarifying the redevelopment drawings and the mosque’s status on the authorities involved in the project. The Centre, CPWD, NDMC and Delhi Waqf Board are expected to respond within four weeks.
