Imam Zakir Hussain was about to lead the morning prayer at Akhunji Masjid, a 13th-century mosque in Mehrauli, on January 30, when the serene silence was disrupted by the loud roar of bulldozers. Within hours, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) authorities demolished the whole site, including the Akhunji Masjid and Behrul Uloom madrasa and several graves in the burial ground.
“We were barely given ten minutes to gather our things before the machines came and demolition started,” Imam Zakir Hussain told Indian Express.
He claimed that the authorities grabbed his phone, escorted him away from the site, and cordoned it off, deploying CISF personnel along the perimeter; the rubble from the demolition was collected and disposed of almost immediately.
While its exact history is unknown, the Akhunji mosque, located near the Qutub Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is believed to be between 600 and 700 years old, built during the reign of Delhi Sultanate's Razia Sultana, and listed by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1920.
Why Was The Akhunji Mosque Demolished?
According to the DDA, the Akhunji mosque was an illegal structure that stood on the reserved forest land of Sanjay Van.
The DDA noted in a statement to ThePrint that the mosque stood in the southern part of the Delhi Ridge—an elevated structure that forms part of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor. The authority said it was merely complying with orders by the Ridge Management Board, a body constituted in 1995 for the protection of the ridge, to clear illegal encroachments.
“The Sanjay Van is a reserved forest spread over an area of 780 acres, which is part of the Southern Ridge. As per the Ridge Management Board, the ridge area should be free from all types of illegal encroachment,” DDA’s statement read, adding that 5,000 sqm of land was reclaimed in the exercise.
Petition Against The demolition:
The managing committee of the Delhi Waqf Board lodged a plea challenging the demolition carried out by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
In the petition, the committee contended that the demolition action had been illegally undertaken by the DDA without following due process of law.
They also argued that the action disregards a March 23, 2022, HC order where a “survey was directed” to be conducted with respect to the land in question.
In response to the plea, the Delhi High Court has requested an explanation for why the structure was demolished without notice, ordering the DDA to maintain the status quo on the ground until the next hearing on February 12.
A bench of Justice Sachin Datta, however, noted that the judgement would not prevent the city authorities from taking action against other illegal properties in the area.
Delhi Development Authority Response:
The DDA's representative stated that the current petition should be dismissed because the petitioner had no authority to file it.
They stated that the DDA's actions were based on a decision made during a Religious Committee meeting on January 4, 2024, regarding the land and the removal of the structure complies with the committee's recommendations.
Regarding reports that the DDA took religious books during the destruction, the DDA's official stated that the books are safe with officials and will be given to the Delhi Waqf Board.
