Ujjain mosque row settled with civic body; 15 detained for violence over demolition

Petitioners representing the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain informed the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday that they had settled the dispute with the Municipal Corporation over the demolition of a portion of the mosque, which sparked an unrest in the area. The court subsequently disposed of two appeals concerning the matter.

Violent clashes erupted in Ujjain after authorities moved to demolish a portion of the mosque as part of a road-widening project ahead of the 2028 Simhastha fair. Thousands of Muslims gathered to protest the removal of the structure's boundary wall and minaret, leading to stone-pelting, lathi charges and the use of tear gas by police to control the crowd.

The Indore bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Jai Kumar Pillai disposed of the two appeals after hearing the parties. The Muslim side told the court that a settlement had been reached with the Ujjain Municipal Corporation regarding the removal of obstructions to the mosque.

The bench said the assurances given by the civic body in its response and interim notice in the Shahi Masjid case would be binding on the corporation.

The Muslim side had challenged the September 9 order of a single bench of the High Court through two appeals. The petitions had been dismissed after the court took note of the master plan road, following which appeals were filed against the order.

During Monday's hearing, the petitioners sought that only three feet of the mosque structure identified as an obstruction be removed. They also sought full compliance with assurances earlier given by the Municipal Corporation regarding Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR).

TDR is a compensation mechanism under which a property owner whose land is acquired for a public project may receive development rights that can be used on another property or transferred or sold to another developer.

According to the submissions before the court, discussions had earlier taken place over removing only three feet of the structure. The petitioners also sought directions to ensure that the civic body's assurances regarding TDR and FAR were implemented in full.

A petition had also been filed by a new committee in the matter. However, it was withdrawn after discussions with the administration.

The removal action was part of road-widening work being carried out in Ujjain under the master plan ahead of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela. The Ujjain Municipal Corporation has been removing structures considered obstructions to the planned road expansion.

The more than 100-year-old Shahi Masjid also came under the scope of the action, leading to the legal dispute over the portion of the structure identified as an obstruction.

The road-widening drive has also involved the removal of obstructive portions of other structures. On Sunday, the obstructive portion of the ancestral house of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav was also removed as part of the same master plan road-widening exercise.15 FIRs OVER VIOLENCE DURING DEMOLITION

The court proceedings came on a day when violence was reported during the demolition of a portion of the mosque. Some people threw stones at the cops, following which police fired tear gas shells to control the situation.

Ujjain Police subsequently detained people accused of creating disturbances and spreading misleading information on social media during the road-widening operation.

Police said 15 people had been detained and more than half a dozen FIRs registered. Of those detained, five were allegedly spreading rumours on social media, while five others were non-local residents who were allegedly attempting to enter Ujjain.

Ujjain Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said some people were attempting to disturb the atmosphere in the city. Police said those allegedly posting inflammatory content on social media were identified and detained.

The police are also investigating the purpose of the outsiders who were allegedly attempting to enter the city.

Sharma said local residents and Muslim community committees were cooperating with the administration in the road-expansion work. He also briefed security personnel deployed during the operation and praised their work on the ground.

Police appealed to the public not to pay attention to rumours or misleading messages circulating on social media.- Ends