The Gujarat High Court, in a significant ruling on Friday, ordered Rail Bhavan and railway authorities to maintain the status quo regarding an eviction notice issued to the Kalu Shaheed Dargah, situated near Ahmedabad’s Kalupur railway station. The notice, issued by the Western Railway division and Rail Land Development Authority last month, demanded the removal of the “unauthorised Dargah” within 14 days to facilitate the redevelopment of the Ahmedabad Railway Station.
Also read- Gujarat High Court Dismisses Kejriwal’s Review Petition On PM Modi’s Degree, Upholds Fine (lawchakra.in)
Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati, presiding over the case, responded to a plea filed by Sabirhusen Malek, the caretaker of the Dargah. Malek’s petition sought to quash the railway authorities’ notice and requested a stay on its execution pending the final decision on the petition. The court has scheduled the next hearing for January 16, 2024, and has directed the authorities to maintain the property as is until then.
In his plea, Malek argued that the notice was in
“gross violation of the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995,”
as the Dargah has been a Waqf property since 2002. He emphasized that no action should be initiated without approval or consultation with the Waqf Board. Furthermore, Malek highlighted that the railway department had been collecting license fees from the Dargah since 1912, contradicting their claim of the structure being unauthorized.
The petition also referenced a 2018 public interest litigation filed when the extension of pit lines threatened the structure of the Dargah and the safety of devotees. During those proceedings, the Railway authority filed an affidavit stating that the extension would not affect the Dargah and would maintain a safe distance from the shrine.
Jitendra Jain, the public relations officer for the Ahmedabad division of Western Railways, commented on the matter, stating,
“We can issue notices to Mandir and Masjid which are on our (Railway) premises. We are making a world-class station of Rs 3,000 crore, everyone should support this. We are protecting the Jhulta Minars (shaking minarets). Neither the Mandir nor the Masjid is heritage and if you say it’s 50,000 years old, why will we accept it? Show us the papers. If they were heritage, we would protect them.”
The Gujarat High Court’s decision to stay the eviction notice reflects the complex interplay between development initiatives and the protection of religious and heritage sites. The case underscores the importance of adhering to legal frameworks like the Waqf Act in resolving such disputes.
