Right Of Way: Delhi High Court Allows Demolition Of Portions Of Mandir, Masjid, Says Larger Public Interest Outweighs Concerns Of Places Of Worship

The Delhi High Court has observed that places of worship cannot encroach public land and hinder developmental activities meant for the larger segment of the public.Justice Prathiba M Singh made the observations while paving the way for demolition of portions of a Mandir and a Masjid situated at Jheel ka Piao in Delhi’s ITO area for making the pedestrian pathway uniform.The court observed. The Delhi High Court has observed that places of worship cannot encroach public land and hinder developmental activities meant for the larger segment of the public. The photographs which have been placed on record show clearly that the Mandir and Masjid are abutting the pedestrian pathway.” It noted that the line sketch filed by the PWD shows that there is no uniformity in the pedestrian pathway and that it needs to be made uniform and matched along with the pedestrian pathway across the entire stretch of the road, failing which, pedestrians’ safety would be seriously affected. Observing that the larger public interest would outweigh the concerns raised by both Mandir and Masjid, the court said, “There is no gainsaying that places of worship cannot be encroaching public land and hindering developmental activities meant for the larger segment of the public.” The court directed that the concerned Executive Engineer of PWD would confer with the caretakers of both Mandir and Masjid and arrive at a consensus as to the time and date on which the demolition would take place.