On Wednesday (17th January), the Karnataka High Court ordered the issuance of notices to the state and central governments in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition contending that a madrasa was being run illegally on the premises of an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected mosque in Mandya district’s Srirangapatna.
On Wednesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit heard Abhishek Gowda’s appeal, issued summons to the respondents to file objections and subsequently adjourned the hearing.
Reports say that petitioner Abhishek Gowda, a resident of Hosa Kabballu village, Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagara district said that the madrasa inside the Jama Masjid in Srirangapatna caused damage to the original structure by making structural modifications, demolishing the compound, building bathrooms, destroying historic sculptures, and cooking and consuming food there daily. The petitioner told the court that the said mosque was constructed during Tipu Sultan’s era.
“All the above acts are totally illegal and a violation of Section 7, Rule 7 & 8 of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act and Rules,” the petitioner said.
The petitioner also contended that the office bearers of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had asked the government to take action in this regard in 2022 and had filed a police complaint but to no effect. In response to the petitioner’s RTI appeal for information on the madrasa inside the mosque, the ASI stated that no permission was obtained to operate a madrasa within the protected site.
The petitioner sought the court to order the ASI to remove unlawful structures from the mosque and to shut down the illegal madrasa that is operating there. The petitioner filed a court petition after receiving no answer from the Archaeological Survey of India, the state, or the central government.
