Centre seeks Qadeemi Masjid removal for Central Vista project
The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that the more than 100-year-old Qadeemi Masjid inside Krishi Bhawan must be removed for the Central Vista redevelopment project, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
In an affidavit, the government said a permanent religious structure within a government office complex was not permitted and was incompatible with the secular character of government property. The mosque stands on the site where Common Central Secretariat Buildings 4 and 5 are to be constructed.
The Central Vista Redevelopment Master Plan provides for the redevelopment and reconstruction of the two buildings at Plot No. 120, which covers the existing Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan. The government said the project was aimed at modernising infrastructure essential for the country's governance and was of paramount national importance.
The Land and Development Office, which functions under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said in its affidavit: "Krishi Bhawan and the Central Secretariat complex are secular public premises, dedicated exclusively to governmental, administrative and public service functions. The establishment or retention of a permanent religious structure, or a demand for one, within the confines of a central government office complex is impermissible and incompatible with the secular character of Government property."
The affidavit was filed in response to a petition by the mosque's caretakers. They have sought directions restraining the authorities from demolishing, dismantling, removing or disturbing the waqf property without first fairly and transparently considering whether it could be retained.
The government said public land within a central administrative zone could not be reserved permanently for religious use. It added that the fully functional Shahi Masjid Zabta Ganj near India Gate was located within a two-kilometre radius of Krishi Bhawan and could serve as a nearby prayer facility.
According to PTI, the affidavit was filed after Justice Anish Dayal sought the Centre's response to the petition by the Qadeemi Masjid caretaking committee. The matter is listed for hearing on November 23.
The Centre said the mosque, located within the Krishi Bhawan compound on Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, stood on government land under the administrative control of the Land and Development Office.
It said an agreement was signed in November 1940 between the government and the secretary of Jama Masjid's managing committee. Under the agreement, the committee was granted only permissive possession of the property for the limited purpose of using it as a mosque.
"The respondent no. 1 (Central government), being the owner of the land, cannot be compelled to allot or set apart any separate space for the said mosque within the Krishi Bhawan compound or the Central Secretariat complex," the affidavit said.
It added: "The managing committee was granted only permissive possession under the agreement dated November 8, 1940, which conferred no right, title or interest in the land."
The Centre said reserving any part of the project site for a religious structure would be inconsistent with the master plan and the secular character of government property. It also said no fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution was being violated, as there was no right to insist on worship at a particular place on government land occupied under a permissive arrangement.
The petitioners' counsel had earlier said they were not seeking to stall the redevelopment of Krishi Bhawan and Shastri Bhawan. They were seeking a prayer facility in the proposed new buildings, arguing that Qadeemi Masjid had served government employees and others working in nearby government offices for several decades.
The dispute centres on the Centre's plan to remove Qadeemi Masjid for the construction of two new secretariat buildings and the caretakers' request for its retention or for a prayer facility in the redeveloped complex.- Ends
