Mumbai, July 18, 2023 (PPI-OT): The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court put an interim stay on the order of Jalgaon District Collector banning namaz (prayers) in the 800-year-old Jamia Masjid in Erandol town in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Advocate S.S. Kazi, representing Jamia Masjid Trust, told the media that Justice R.M. Joshi restored the status of the masjid and stayed the order passed by Jalgaon District Collector Aman Mittal.

The court put a stay on the entire District Collector Mittal’s order and directed the local administration to hand over the mosque keys to the trust. The court has also issued notice to all respondents. The next hearing will be after two weeks, said Kazi. On 11 July, the district collector issued an order banning namaz in the mosque, which is a registered Waqf property. The collector passed the order following a complaint filed by a Hindutva group, Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti, claiming that the mosque was built after demolishing a Hindu Temple. The complainant, Prasad Madhusudan Dandawate, a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, claimed that the Jamia Masjid Trust has “illegally” encroached upon the land.

The mosque trust challenged the collector’s order in the High Court where advocate Kazi maintained that the trust was not given any opportunity by the collector to contest the claims made by the Samiti. There are documents in the local administration’s record showing that the administration and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) had no objection to the namaz being offered on the premises of the mosque, said Kazi. The lawyer also stated that the masjid trust has been taking utmost care and there is no complaint received in that regard by the ASI, or even the state government.

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