Ujjain mosque standoff: residents stay put as Shahi Masjid demolition nears

Members of Ujjain's Muslim community gathered in large numbers at the Shahi Masjid on Sunday and many planned to remain inside through the night, refusing to vacate the premises as the district administration prepared to remove portions of the historic mosque for a road-widening project linked to Simhastha 2028.

Several companies of local police have been deployed in the area. Officers are attempting to persuade mosque committee members and residents to cooperate with the proposed demolition, and no demolition was carried out on Sunday.

Ujjain Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said the force was trying to resolve the matter through dialogue. He said adequate personnel had been deployed to keep the peace, that the legal position had been explained to the mosque committee, and that the administration was urging the committee to carry out the demolition itself. "We are not proceeding with any demolition for now," he said.

The dispute centres on the section of the mosque that falls within the alignment of a road the Ujjain Municipal Corporation plans to widen to 15 metres. Community members have asked why the road cannot instead be widened by removing the building opposite the mosque.

Imam Mohammad Ibrahim said the mosque should be left out of the exercise. Describing Ujjain as a religious city, he argued that no religious site should be demolished and that widening should proceed around such structures. He said the mosque dates back 636 years, to 1390, and that earlier road-widening work had spared religious buildings. He added that the community had already surrendered as much as it could under Sharia, including several shops, and could not give up any part of the mosque. A petition filed by the mosque authorities is listed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday, he said.

Mohammad Zakir, a member of the Muslim Representative Committee, said the community had assembled at the mosque to prevent its demolition. He said residents had stayed inside all night and wanted the mosque spared at any cost.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the community was protesting in a "Gandhian way" and argued that mosques and other religious properties could not be demolished in this manner. He linked the protest to concerns he had raised in Parliament over the Waqf Amendment law, alleging that powers given to collectors and the government under the amended law were meant to let authorities take control of mosques, dargahs, khanqahs, graveyards and Eidgahs. He said the Ujjain action showed the amendment's purpose was not to protect Waqf properties.

The fresh standoff follows a September 9 order in which the High Court dismissed two petitions challenging the municipal corporation's decision to remove the portion of the mosque within the proposed road alignment. The mosque is registered as a Waqf property.

The petitioners had contended that the action would affect part of the prayer hall, a 120-foot minaret and the Mazhar Chowk Shahi, and had challenged it under Articles 14, 25 and 26 of the Constitution, along with property-rights concerns under Article 300A. Justice Sandeep N Bhatt held that the corporation had followed statutory procedure and given affected parties a chance to object.

The court rejected the argument that the mosque was being singled out as a religious structure, noting that portions of 10 temples and one mosque had already been removed along the same road and that action had been taken involving around 80 religious places across Ujjain. It held that the corporation could not be called arbitrary merely because the property was a religious place.

The corporation had argued that the widening was being carried out under the Ujjain Development Plan, 2035, and was needed for traffic during the Shahi Sawari, Peshwai and Simhastha 2028, when crores of devotees are expected. The court noted the mosque's location almost opposite the Mahakaleshwar Temple and near the Kshipra river, and found the action was taken in accordance with law and in the larger public interest. It rejected the plea for interference under Article 226.

The order has not settled the dispute on the ground. The mosque committee has moved before a larger bench, with the matter expected to be heard on Monday, and community members have said they will consider approaching the Supreme Court if they do not get relief. The protests add another layer to Ujjain's Simhastha preparations, as the administration pushes to widen roads and expand traffic capacity while residents and religious groups resist the removal of structures they say should be preserved.