Shimla Sanjauli Masjid Dispute: Demolition of Illegal Construction Resumes in Himachal

Shimla. The work of demolishing the illegal construction of the mosque (Shimla Masjid Dispute) in Sanjauli of Shimla city of Himachal Pradesh has started once again. Work stops intermittently due to funds and now demolition has started again. The roof is now being demolished in the illegal floor of the mosque and this illegal construction is being demolished by the mosque committee.

According to the information, three days ago, on March 4, the work of demolishing this construction started and now it is continuing for the third consecutive day. The road leading to the mosque has been barricaded by the police. However, no one is prohibited from passing through the roads leading to the mosque. Barricades have been installed only as a precaution.

It is worth noting that earlier, the members of Civil Society Sanjauli had written a letter to the Municipal Corporation Commissioner on 19 February 2025 asking him to demolish the illegal construction. On the other hand, the court had given two months' time to the mosque committee to demolish the illegal construction. But even after five months, the entire illegal construction has not been demolished. Only about 20 percent of the construction has been demolished.

According to the information, so far one and a half floors of the illegal construction have been demolished and it will take time to demolish the entire illegal construction, the court has given time till March 15. Mosque Committee President Mohammad Latif said that the mosque committee will take 1 more month from the court. Because, they are facing shortage of labor and money.

Why are they not able to demolish the construction?

The Municipal Corporation Commissioner had declared three floors of Sanjauli Mosque illegal and they were constructed without permission. Orders were given to demolish it, but the mosque committee had said that it would not demolish the structure citing lack of funds. In such a situation, the work of demolishing the mosque starts intermittently and then stops. This has happened three to four times so far and now the work of demolishing the illegal construction has started again. It is worth noting that last year there was a controversy regarding this mosque and there were protests all over the state.