The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered the Delhi Development Authority to maintain status quo on the land where 600-year-old Akhoondji/Akhunji mosque stood prior to its demolition on 30 January.
Justice Sachin Datta of the Delhi High Court said that the status quo will remain in force until the next date of hearing on 12 February.
Justice Dutta was reacting to a plea filed by the Managing Committee of the Delhi Waqf Board.
Muslims had accused the Delhi government headed by Arvind Kejriwal of illegally demolishing the historical mosque and desecrating the graves in the vicinity. The DDA officials, who report to Kejriwal, had also damaged and desecrated copies of Holy Quran.
The DDA, however, has rejected allegations of desecrating the graves and Holy Quran saying that they took care of the Holy book.
Muslims in the area allege that the authorities had not given them any prior notice before demolishing the historical structure.
Kejriwal’s politics has taken a dramatic shift in favour of pro-Hindutva ideology, similar to what’s been propagated by the likes of the RSS and the BJP. He had publicly criticised Muslims staging protests against the CAA and NRC in Shaheen Bagh in 2019 and 2020. But Muslims voted Kejriwal’s party overwhelmingly, giving the AAP a historical second third term four years ago.