The Bombay High Court has directed the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) to hand over a plot, within three months, to a trust to build a mosque in Sanpada. The state body had agreed to give the land 2012, but held it back even after receiving the payment owing to opposition from local politicians, residential societies and police apprehension over law and order problems.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice A S Chandurkar directed CIDCO to hand over the plot of land to Tanzimul Muslimin Society. It directed the trust to abide by the terms and conditions laid down by the Urban development department, while giving an NOC to the CIDCO to allot the land to Tanzimul society.
The court citing an earlier High Court judgment, which observed that authorities should uphold the secular fabric of Indian democracy, thereby giving equal rights to the minority communities to preach their faith, rejected an intervene application filed by Akhil Sanpada Rahivashi Sanskrutik Prathisthan.
The intervener had objected to the allotment on the grounds that the population of Muslims in the area was very less. Further reliance was placed on a report by the Navi Mumbai Police commissioner in 2003 stating that if the land was allotted for building the mosque there could be law and order problems.
The bench though said "There was no law to not allow land based on population of a minority community in the area. Further the resolution passed in 2008 by CIDCO for allotment of land was not challenged."
The society had come to court after CIDCO even after taking a premium amount of over 65 lakhs from them did not hand over physical possession. The court thus observed "We hold the action of CIDCO as illegal and directed it to handover the plot."
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