The Delhi High Court has questioned the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) over the reported disconnection of electricity and water at the Race Course mosque without prior notice, and has sought responses from the civic body and the Delhi Waqf Board within two weeks.
A bench led by Justice Subramonium Prasad heard an appeal filed by mosque imam Mohammad Haroon, who challenged an October 15 order of a single judge. The earlier order had rejected a petition seeking restoration of the mosque’s electricity and water connections.
During Friday’s hearing, the court told the NDMC that electricity could not be disconnected without issuing notice, according to the report. The court has fixed December 14 for the next hearing.
The appeal argues that the electricity and water supplies were cut without following the procedure required under applicable laws and rules. Advocate M Sufian Siddiqui, appearing for the imam, submitted that the authorities had relied on an earlier court order concerning the removal of slums around the mosque.
The petitioner’s side argued that the mosque was not a party to that earlier case and that an order concerning the removal of nearby slums could not automatically be applied to the religious structure. The submission places the dispute within a wider question of how civic and land-clearance actions affect structures that are separately recognised or recorded under law.
The petition states that the mosque, located within the Race Course Club premises, is a notified property of the Delhi Waqf Board. It was also notified as a Grade-II heritage structure in 2009, according to the report.
The imam has expressed concern that action to clear surrounding land by the central government could also result in the mosque being removed. The immediate court proceedings, however, concern the reported interruption of essential utility services and the procedure followed before the disconnection.
The central government had told the High Court on October 29 that it would decide on a representation submitted by the Delhi Waqf Board within four weeks. It had also informed the court that no punitive action would be taken against the mosque until then.
The notices issued in the present appeal require the NDMC and the Delhi Waqf Board to file their replies within two weeks. The matter will next be considered by the High Court on December 14.
