Gujarat assures SC of being in possession of land where demolitions happened

New Delhi: The Gujarat government on Friday informed the Supreme Court the land, where the alleged illegal demolitions of Muslim religious structures took place at Gir Somnath, will remain with it and not allotted to any third party.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, and did not pass any interim status quo order in the meantime as sought by the counsel of the Muslim parties.

“The solicitor general states until further orders, the possession of the land in question shall remain with the government and not be allotted to any third parties. In that view of the matter, we do not find it necessary to pass any interim order,” the bench said.

The bench was hearing a plea against a Gujarat High Court order by which a status quo order on demolitions of Muslim religious structures was declined. The top court is also dealing with a separate contempt plea against the Gujarat authorities for allegedly illegally demolishing residential and religious structures in the state despite an interim stay and without its prior nod.

The plea had sought initiation of the contempt proceedings against the state authorities for the alleged violation of the Apex Court’s September 17 order. The top court had then halted the demolition of properties, including of persons accused of crimes, in the country without its permission. The plea would come up on November 11 for hearing.

The bench had ordered listing of a fresh plea of Auliya-e-Deen Committee against the high court order on the same day. At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Auliya-e-Deen Committee of Junagadh, said the structures belonging to a particular community, had been demolished but temples on the government land there had been spared.

Protected monuments were razed on the ground that they were near a water body, the Arabian Sea, he claimed. The solicitor general opposed the submissions and said only those structures, which were built on encroached

government land.