150-year-old Saharanpur Mosque Demolished Overnight

Synopsis

On September 5, 2026, a pre-independence era mosque was demolished situated in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. This move came after a local court classified the mosque as an illegal encroachment on government property. The mosque was located in a local collectorate ground, also consisting of a sub-post office in its premises. In this article, we will explore the events that led to the demolition as well as the political controversy stirring around this event.

Demolition

A Heavy police force, consisting of five companies of armed constabulary as well as the anti-riot police was deployed in the early hours of Saturday morning to demolish a 150-year-old mosque, three days after the local court ruled that the religious structure was illegal.

On September 2, 2026, the local court dismissed an appeal filed by the mosque’s management committee against a city magistrate court that had ordered its eviction in July. The magistrate court had given a 30-day notice to vacate the site while imposing a ₹6.41 crore penalty on illegal occupants for the unauthorized occupation of 315 square meter of government land.

However, there are allegations that elected representatives of the opposition party were prevented from going to the site and accused Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, of targeting Muslim communities and stirring communal tensions before the 2027 elections.

According to sub-divisional magistrate Subodh Kumar, the demolition started at 7 a.m., while the opposition allege that it instead started at 5 a.m., while it was still dark. Subodh Kumar has stated that the legal proceedings for the recovery of penalty is still underway while the post-office which was functioning within the mosque has been removed.

The district judge Satendra Kumar has maintained that the mosque failed to produce evidence regarding ownership and lawful possession of property while affirming the eviction order issued on July 16, 2026, by the city’s magistrate court under Uttar Pradesh Public Premises Act 1972.

Bajrang Dal Files for Complaint

A Bajrang Dal activist, Vikas Tyagi filed a complaint in 2025 followed by the revenue department carrying out an enquiry and the state filed a suit through the Saharanpur District Magistrate. The revenue records classified it as a government land, consisting of the local court and collectorate. According to the officials, the space, initially meant as a public rest house or Vishram Grah was illegally converted into a religious structure while the caretakes of the mosque illegally collected rent from a sub-post office operating in its premises.

On the other hand, Mohammad Tanveer Ahmed, the caretaker of the mosque rejected these claims while arguing that the structure was over 115-years old having been established even before 1911 and was protected under the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

According to him, the land did not constitute public property under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises Act, 1971 and was instead recorded as zamindari land. Moreover, the mosque is registered as Waqf and registered on the Umeed portal according to the Mosque administration. However, despite this, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board was not included as a necessary party as a result of which the suit filed by the Saharanpur administration was barred under Section 85 of the Waqf Act.

Yet, Judge Subodh Kumar maintained that the mosque’s appeal lacked merit while supporting the lower court’s order.

Opposition confined to homes leading to political row

Iqra Hasan, a Member of Parliament of Kairana, from Samajwadi Party, alleged that she was put under house arrest during the demolition while barricades were erected preventing people to negotiate with the authorities for more time as they wished to approach the High Court. While Iqra Hasan talked criticized the method of “quick justice” being adopted by the government, DIG Saharanpur, Abhishek Singh defended the action by stating that all preventive actions were taken to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile Asaduddin Owaisi expressed anger over the curtailment of freedom of religion from Muslims while raising questions over the repeated demolishment of Muslim places of worship. Owaisi stated that the mosque had been in existence since before 1911, as per the records shown by the mosque committee and is protected as waqf under law.

“There was more than a century of open, continuous and public possession? The State cannot pretend that this possession began yesterday, hence the principle of adverse possession would apply even if we concede to the state’s arguments. The mosque came first, the collectorate later,” he said.

Moreover, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the UP government was using a “communal issue” so as to distract people from theft in the donations of Ram Mandir. While talking to the reporters, he said, "Those who do not respect other religions can never be Sanatanis. Those who trifle with the faith of others can never be Sanatanis. A true Hindu can never insult another; this is what we have learned in 'Sanatan Dharma'. True Sanatanis are people who cherish harmony; harmony should be the government's highest priority,”

Adding to this, Congress MP from Saharanpur Imran Masood stated that the demolition was a violation of the constitution as even though it was registered under Waqf board and yet it was not made a party in the case.

“You cannot prove that the land belongs to you. Based on the Khasra records, you have claimed that this is government collectorate land. But even today, the collectorate land is recorded in the names of Waheed Khan and Yakub Khan, within whose zamindari the mosque was built. It is still registered in their names,” he said

Responding to these criticisms, BJP MLA from Saharanpur city, Rajiv Gumbar, argued that the demolition had followed proper procedures as the mosque was served proper notice and the matter has been taken over by the magistrate as well as the district court.