The Uttarakhand High Court had listed the matter of illegal Madrasa for February 14, 2024 but the Haldwani Municipal Corporation did not wait for the hearing.
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On February 8th, the Haldwani Municipal Corporation conducted a demolition drive in the Banbhoolpura locality, demolishing a madrasa and a mosque. The demolition sparked clashes between locals and police, resulting in casualties and injuries to police personnel.
The targeted structures, known as the Mariyam mosque and the Abdul Razzaq Zakariya madrasa, were built in 2002 and managed by Abdul Malik and his wife, Safia Malik. According to Pankaj Upadhyay, the municipal commissioner, the structures were constructed on government land earmarked for public use.
Safia Malik had approached the Uttarakhand High Court on February 6, claiming that the land had been leased and later sold to her family, and sought interim relief against the demolition. However, the corporation proceeded with the demolition before the court’s decision, citing absence of a stay order.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami asserted that the demolition was conducted based on a court directive, a claim supported by the Nainital District Magistrate. However, a copy of the court order revealed that the matter was only listed for a future hearing.
The demolition has stirred controversy, with Malik’s counsel alleging procedural irregularities and lack of notice. The incident sheds light on the long-standing dispute between the Malik family and local authorities, with a history of confrontations dating back to 2020.
The demolition in Haldwani is perceived as part of a broader policy by the BJP-led Uttarakhand government to remove structures it deems “illegal”. However, leaders from the BJP’s minority wing expressed concerns, warning against the demolition of structures serving underprivileged children, fearing negative repercussions for minority communities.
The property at the centre of the Haldwani violence is spread across six bighas. In her February 6 writ petition, Safia Malik told the High Court that in 1937, the colonial government had leased it out to one Mohammad Yaseen “for agricultural purposes”.
On January 27, claims Malik, the corporation tried to take “forcible possession” of the property. Three days later, it served a notice to her husband.
A copy of the notice, seen by Scroll, told Abdul Malik that he was building a “namaz site” and a “so-called madrasa” illegally on nazul land.
It said that Abdul Malik must demolish and vacate the property by February 1 under Uttarakhand’s Nazul policy of 2009 and 2021, and the Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, else the corporation would do so by force.
This notice does not align with the due process mentioned in the state’s 2021 nazul policy, which is laid out in the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972.
Section four of the Act says that authorities must issue an eviction notice calling upon all persons concerned to “show cause why an order of eviction should not be made”. It must also give the occupants at least 10 days to present their case.
The Haldwani Municipal Corporation’s notice did not do either. In Malik’s words, it was “ bad in the eyes of the law”. Baig added that the 1972 Act also allows occupants to appeal an eviction order before a district judge.
Haldwani’s municipal commissioner Upadhyay, when asked about the problems with the notice, said:
“They should have replied to the notice. I did not hear from them after the notice.”
He added:
“They have occupied government land and have been selling it and making money. If they have problems with the notice, they should seek legal relief from the court.”
On January 31, Malik made a representation to the district magistrate, laying out the history of the property and asked for the demolition to be stayed until the district magistrate decided on her father’s freehold plea from 2007. In the petition, she claims that a copy of it was sent to the corporation.
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On February 2, Upadhyay wrote to the Nainital’s senior superintendent of police, requesting police presence during the demolition of the mosque and the madrasa on February 4.
Minority community has said to the media, that they were puzzled by the haste with which the administration executed the demolition.
“We think it was done keeping in mind the upcoming elections,”
-people said.
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