In an update to the Jumma Masjid case from Erandol region of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, the Bombay High Court has issued a stay on the interim order by the administration refraining people of the Muslim community to enter a disputed mosque structure that resembles an old temple.
As per the sources, a single-judge bench of the Bombay High Court led by Justice RM Joshi has put a two-week stay on the collector’s order on Tuesday, July 18.
On July 16, the administration had sealed the century-old disputed mosque temporarily and had issued an order under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, immediately banning prayers on the premises which is protected under the State Archaeology Department. The collector had also directed police deployment in the area and had asked the local administration to take charge of the mosque, which has been officially declared as ‘disputed’.
After this, the Jumma Masjid Trust Committee who looks after the disputed mosque structure had moved to the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court against the collector’s order banning entry into the premises for offering prayers.
The petition, filed by the Jumma Masjid Trust Committee’s president Altaf Khan claimed that the collector had passed the ‘arbitrary and illegal’ order on July 11 which directed the trust to hand over the keys of the disputed ‘mosque’ to the Erandol municipal council’s chief officer.
However, the Court has issued a stay order against the collector’s directives. The matter will be next heard on July 27.
Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti demands the restoration of the property
The development was confirmed to OpIndia by complainant Prasad Madhusudan Dandawate of the Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti. He said that the Court has issued a stay order against the section 144 directive and has allowed members of both communities to enter the premises for prayers.
“There are around 4-5 Muslims who offer Namaz there daily. Now they have been allowed but also the members of the Hindu community can go in the premises of the Pandava wada which has been illegally encroached by the Masjid Trust,” Dandawate confirmed.
Earlier, it was reported how the Pandava Wada in Erandol region of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district was converted into a Mosque. The saga began when the Dandawate complained to the district administration that the mosque has been illegally constructed over a Hindu place of worship and should be taken over by the authorities. The complainant further asserted that the Hindu character and structure of the vicinity had been destroyed by the Jumma Masjid Trust who illegally has encroached on the area to call it a Mosque.
Trust illegally installed electricity, concrete restructuring
As per the complaint by the Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti, the Trust has illegally occupied the premises and has made several changes to the 800-1000-year-old Pandava Wada which today stands protected under the State Archeology Department. The trust has installed electricity, fans, cement doors, and water connections to the Pandava wada. “They have also illegally constructed wuzukhana type area for people of the Muslim community to wash their hands before Namaz. Who gave this permission to them,” Dandawate pondered.
The Samiti in the complaint has demanded that all the illegal construction and addition made to the Pandava Wada should be removed and the property shall be taken over by the authority. The Samiti has also demanded a scientific evaluation to determine the age of the property. It has been said that the old Pandava Wada which has been illegally encroached by the Trust should be recovered by the authorities in its original form.
What is Pandav Wada?
The Pandav wada sites in the Erandol region of Jalgaon district, are claimed to be under Islamic encroachments. It is believed that the Pandavas spent their years in exile in the Erandol region and that the Hindu and Jain temple-like structures built here are 800-1000 years old. Later due to the severe indifference among Hindus, Muslims slowly started encroaching on Pandav Wada more than 125 years ago, and they eventually built a mosque there while claiming it to be Wakf property.
Hindu groups like the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti have been battling to reclaim Pandavwada from the Wakf Board’s intrusions and restore the areas. The contested mosque has records of existence of at least 100 years, whereas the principal buildings in Pandava wada (built in the style of Jain and Hindu temples) are reportedly 800-1000 years old.
Hindu organizations maintain that the mosque was constructed by destroying a Hindu temple that is mentioned in Hindu scriptures. Further, the associated Wakf committee had been working to build the disputed mosque in order to ruin the Pandavwada’s Hindu culture as described in local folklore and scriptures.
The Masjid Trust however maintains that the property belongs to the Waqf board and that it’s only the Waqf tribunal that takes decisions with regard to Waqf properties. “The collector has bypassed the waqf tribunal,” the Trust said.
The next hearing of the case is scheduled on July 27, 2023.
