The Allahabad High Court on Saturday refused to stay the demolition of a mosque and an adjacent marriage hall and a hospital allegedly built on government land in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. Dismissing the petition, a single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Pathak directed the mosque committee to file an appeal before the trial court against the demolition order.

The petition was filed by Masjid Sharif Gausul Wara Rawa Buzurg and its mutawalli (caretaker), Minjar.

On Thursday, the administration demolished a mosque and a 30,000-sq-ft marriage hall in Raya Buzurg village. The hall was razed using bulldozers under heavy police presence.

Both the mosque and the marriage hall, erected a decade ago, were declared illegal encroachments during a survey. This is the second such controversy surrou

See Full Page