Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) today sought from the Delhi High Court dismissal of local MLA Shoaib Iqbal’s plea that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) be restrained from razing a mosque, built illegally at the government land here.
“The contents .. (of MLA’s plea) are misconceived, distorted and twisted and the contents are nothing but an
attempt by intervener Iqbal to frustrate and delay compliance of the July 30 order passed by the high court …,” said ABHM in its reply to Iqbal’s plea. The ABHM reply was filed by its Vice President S S Sai Baba Om Jee.
Accused of aiding illegal construction of a mosque at a Metro railway project site near Subhash Park in Central Delhi, Iqbal earlier had filed an application for court’s direction to the ASI against demolishing the structure and for forming a committee of eminent persons to assist ASI in ascertaining if the remains of a Mughal-era mosque existed at the site.
A three-judge bench headed by Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri is likely to hear the case tomorrow.
The court had earlier allowed ASI to demolish the illegal construction to ascertain whether remains of the Mughal-era Akbarabadi mosque existed there and had also asked the police and other agencies to help ASI in its work.
ABHM, in its replies to fresh pleas of Iqbal and that of the city police, said they wanted to “frustrate” the execution of court’s earlier order.
Besides the MLA, police too had sought more time from the court for helping ASI raze the structure as there was lack of requisite force due to “massive deployment of police force to maintain peace during the Independence Day, Baba Ram Dev’s protest and Ramzan.”
—————————–PTI