The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that it will not take coercive action against the Race Course Masjid for four weeks, offering temporary relief to the Waqf-notified heritage property while the Land and Development Office considers a representation from the Delhi Waqf Board.
The mosque is located inside the 53-acre Race Course Club near the Prime Minister’s residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. The surrounding area, which includes the Delhi Race Club, Jaipur Polo Ground and demolished informal settlements occupied by nearly 700 families, is being repossessed by the L&DO under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Justice Anish Dayal recorded the Centre’s statement through standing counsel Ashish Dixit, acting on the instructions of deputy land and development officer Kunal Bhaskar. The L&DO told the court that it would decide the Delhi Waqf Board’s representation within four weeks and would not take coercive action against the mosque until then.
The court was hearing a petition filed by worshipper Syed Ahmed Saud, represented by advocate M Sufian Siddiqui. Saud sought unrestricted access to the mosque and protection against demolition, dismantling, sealing, dispossession, forcible exclusion, structural alteration or other coercive action.
Access to the mosque remains restricted. The Centre opposed allowing people to enter or leave the site, citing ongoing demolition work and safety concerns. Dixit told the court that active demolition was taking place and that access had also been restricted to a neighbouring temple. The court declined to order unrestricted access, with Justice Dayal observing that the safety risk during demolition could not be ignored.
Siddiqui told the court that the demolition work had been completed, but the judge did not interfere with the Centre’s position on access. The court directed the Centre to file a status report with photographs before the next hearing, scheduled for December 16.
The Delhi Waqf Board had approached the L&DO on October 19, seeking restoration of the mosque’s electricity and water connections, which were disconnected on October 7. Its representation described the mosque as a Waqf-notified, Grade-II heritage structure and asked that the matter be examined on priority, while also recording apprehension about possible demolition.
The Centre said it would adjudicate the Waqf Board’s representation rather than the individual worshipper’s plea. Its counsel argued that allowing multiple worshippers to approach the L&DO separately could open a “Pandora’s box”. The four-week undertaking and the court-ordered status report are now the immediate steps in the dispute over the mosque’s status and access.
