Delhi High Court has restrained DDA from taking action against Shahi Idgah for using a park during a 2024 religious event. The court cited the non-functioning waqf tribunal and scheduled the next hearing for September 10.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) not to take any action against Shahi Idgah, located in the Sadar Bazar area of New Delhi, for organizing a religious gathering in the nearby park last year. The court’s direction came during a hearing on a petition filed by the Shahi Idgah Managing Committee.
Justice Vikas Mahajan, while hearing the matter, issued a notice to the DDA and asked the authority to respond to the petition. The court observed that since the waqf tribunal, where the petitioner had filed a case regarding the land dispute, is currently not functioning, no steps should be taken by the DDA based on its earlier notice.
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The judge said,
“Renotify on September 10. In the meantime, having regard to the fact that the waqf tribunal is non-functional, where the petitioner has instituted a suit, it is directed that the DDA shall not take any action pursuant to its notice dated February 11, 2025.”
The dispute began when the DDA issued a notice on February 11, 2025, asking the Shahi Idgah Managing Committee to pay ₹12 lakh as charges for using the park area surrounding the Idgah for a religious event called “Ijtema,” which took place in December 2024.
The lawyer appearing for the Shahi Idgah argued that the park in question is part of the Idgah’s property and not under the DDA’s ownership. A legal case has already been filed before the waqf tribunal challenging DDA’s claim over the land.
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However, due to the tribunal not being functional because of the absence of a quorum, the petitioner’s lawyer requested the court to instruct the DDA not to proceed with any action. He submitted that since the waqf tribunal is not operating, the DDA should not move forward with the demand.
The DDA, on the other hand, claimed that the land in question belongs to them and that the religious event was held without obtaining prior permission.
The DDA’s lawyer mentioned that a single judge of the High Court had earlier ruled that the park was DDA property when deciding on a previous petition by the Idgah committee, which had sought permission to install a statue of Maharani Lakshmi Bai in the same area.
the DDA lawyer said
“The single judge of the high court gave a finding on the park being DDA’s property while dealing with the petitioner’s plea for installing a Maharani Lakshmi Bai statue there,”
The lawyer also told the court that the petitioners had challenged the single judge’s decision before a division bench of the Delhi High Court. However, the division bench did not interfere with the lower court’s ruling.
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the petitioner’s counsel argued,
“The single judge had no power to rule on the issue of title of the park and the division bench had left open all contentions of the parties,”
The matter is now posted for further hearing on September 10, 2025. Until then, the Delhi High Court has made it clear that the DDA must not take any steps based on its earlier notice dated February 11.
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