Ahmedabad: Justice Sangita Vishen of the Gujarat High Court on Thursday refused to maintain the status quo at the site of the demolition drive near the Somnath temple in Prabhas Patan. This operation involved the demolition of a mosque, shrines, a graveyard, and the homes of dargah caretakers.

The High Court has been reviewing a petition from the Auliya-e-Deen Committee, which opposed the demolition that began on September 28 and sought the restoration of the site. As all structures were demolished by September 29, the petitioner’s attorney requested the court to impose a status quo, arguing that the government might allocate the land since it had started laying roads.

Justice Sangeeta Vishen denied the request for a status quo, stating in her order, “It is undisputed that a statement was made before this court in 1983 regarding an inquiry to be conducted under Section 37(2) of the Bombay Land Revenue Code. The deputy collector conducted the inquiry and issued an order declaring the land as belonging to the state government, against which an appeal was filed before the collector and is still pending without any stay or protection for the petitioner.” The High Court also acknowledged the government pleader’s assertion that the petitioner had previously engaged in five litigations, none of which resulted in a stay being granted by any court or tribunal. The state government stated that the demolitions were executed because no authorities or courts had issued a stay on the encroachments, which were on land allotted to the Somnath Temple Trust by the state government in 1951.

The petitioner argued that the litigation regarding the status of the land was pending in a civil court, which has since been transferred to the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal, where it is still unresolved.

In the meantime, the court has instructed state authorities to provide information regarding the alleged removal of encroachments, including details about the buildings, their year of construction, and their geographical locations. The court has also asked the petitioner to submit details of the properties they claim to manage. The case is scheduled for further hearing on October 24. DeshGujarat