The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an order by the Gujarat High Court allowing the partial demolition of an Ahmedabad mosque said to be about 400 years old, The Hindu reported. A part of the structure is being set back to widen a road leading to the Sabarmati railway station.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi at the Supreme Court noted that only a portion of the vacant land and an adjoining platform were to be cleared for the road-widening project. It added that the main structure of the mosque, known as Mancha Masjid, would remain untouched.

The bench also said that a temple, a commercial unit and a residential property had similarly been earmarked for demolition as part of the same civic project, adding that it found no reason to interfere with the decision of the High Court.

The measure has been undertaken in public interest and did not infringe upon the right to religious freedom, the Supreme Court added.

On October 3, a division bench of the High Court declined to interfere with a September 23 order issued by a single-judge bench that refused to stop the partial demolition of the mosque in Saraspur.

The division bench agreed with the single-judge bench that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had followed the required procedure before deciding to set back a part of the mosque’s premises.

The mosque’s mutawalli, or custodian, had filed an appeal after the single judge rejected his petition challenging the municipal corporation’s action.

Before the single judge, the mutawalli had submitted that the name of the mosque appeared in the revenue records. He added that the structure had been reconstructed and renovated several times, and that it had its own significance in the Muslim community.

The property in question was also controlled and supervised by the waqf board, he added.

A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.

The state government, however, told the single judge that the road alignment plan prescribed by the municipal commissioner was needed to regulate traffic and allow emergency vehicles to move efficiently.

Before the division bench, the counsel for the mutawalli argued that the municipal corporation had rejected all objections raised in the matter without addressing concerns after a notice was issued for the partial demolition.

On the other hand, the counsel for the municipal corporation had told the court that show cause notices had been issued to all stakeholders and the rules under the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act had been followed.

The counsel noted that the final decision on setbacks was with the municipal standing committee, which had considered all objections, including that of the mutawalli, before approving the plan.

In the Supreme Court on Friday left open the question about whether the site where the mosque stood qualified as a waqf, The Hindu reported. It clarified that the issue could be adjudicated in appropriate proceedings for the purpose of determining compensation.

It also said that Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of religion, could not be invoked in the case because the matter was about property and compensation.

“A bona fide public interest, which is beneficial to the entire city, is beyond any doubt,” The Hindu quoted the bench as having observed.

During the proceedings, advocate Warisha Farasat, representing the Mancha Masjid Trust, disputed the state government’s claim that the mosque would remain unaffected, according to the newspaper.

Noting that it was a 400-year-old heritage structure, she urged the bench to protect the prayer hall.

Farasat also said that the order issued by the municipal corporation failed to cite any genuine public interest and was therefore arbitrary, the newspaper reported.

However, the Supreme Court reiterated that the structure of the mosque would remain intact.

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