On the morning of December 10, the rear portion of the Noori Jama Masjid, located in Sadar Bazar, Lalauli town, Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, was demolished due to encroachment related to a drain construction project. The demolition was carried out under the supervision of ADM Avinash Tripathi and ASP Vijay Shankar Mishra, with heavy security in place, including the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), to maintain law and order in the area.
On September 24, the Masjid Committee received a notice from the Public Works Department (PWD) during a survey for a drain construction project. The notice cited that 133 homes and businesses, along with the rear portion of the mosque, were built illegally. The Masjid Committee had requested a month to clear the encroachments, but they failed to complete the process within the given time frame.
In a rush to widen roads, the @UPGovt's PW Dept is presently demolishing an alleged 'unauthorised' part of the 180-year-old Noori Jama Masjid in #Fatehpur, even as a petition challenging the demolition is still pending in the #AllahabadHighCourt. pic.twitter.com/xV1vFHYEbK
— Sparsh Upadhyay (@ISparshUpadhyay) December 10, 2024
A bulldozer was used to demolish the illegal portion of the mosque. To ensure security, the RAF, PAC, and revenue team were deployed at the site, and regular movement in the area was restricted. ASP Vijay Shankar Mishra stated that the demolition was carried out peacefully and only targeted the unauthorized section at the back of the mosque. However, Syed Noori, the secretary of the Noori Jama Masjid Committee, argued that the demolition violated a writ petition that had been filed against the notice in the Allahabad High Court, with a hearing scheduled for December 13. He claimed that the action amounted to contempt of court.
The management committee of the Noori Jama Masjid had filed a petition with the Allahabad High Court challenging the state government’s road widening project. They argued that the PWD’s plan to demolish part of the mosque for the project would damage a crucial section of the 180-year-old mosque and should be halted. The petition also called for the mosque to be recognized as a heritage site, claiming that the demolition would cause “irreparable harm” to both the nation’s cultural heritage and the local community.
