On Tuesday, 10th December, a 48-year-old long-standing fight over the historical Durgadi Fort in Maharashtra’s Kalyan district was dismissed by the Kalyan District and Sessions Court today as it declared that the fort houses a Durga Mata temple and not a Masjid. For several years, the Majlish-e-Mushavreen Majjid Trust had been claiming that the historical fort having significance since the times of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj housed a Masjid and the property was ‘erroneously’ being claimed as a Hindu site. The Trust also stated that the fort was a Waqf property and that it belonged to the Waqf Board. However, Senior Division Judge A.S. Lanjewar dismissed claims by other religious groups seeking to transfer the case from the Welfare Court to the Waqf Board.
As per the reports, petitioner Dinesh Deshmukh who is the president of the Hindu Manch, shared the court’s decision with the media at Durgadi Fort saying that the case revolving around the fort had been ongoing for 50 years. “The two communities had been fighting over the claims of the fort. Initially heard in the Thane District Court, the case was later transferred to the Kalyan District and Sessions Court,” he said.
Deshmukh, meanwhile, also revealed that in the year 1971, the Thane District Collector declared the site to be a temple. Later, an application was filed, referring to the site as a Masjid. The application demanded inspection and inquiry into the matter. Advocate Bhausaheb Modak who represented the Hindu community’s case then highlighted a few features of the property such as windows in the temple, and a platform (chauthara) for placing Hindu idols. These details, as per Deshmukh, led the government to designate the site as a temple today.
Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) lauded the court decision and said that this was a massive win for the Hindu community. “The Kalyan District and Sessions Court has today given an important verdict that the historic Durgadi Fort of Kalyan is not a mosque but a temple of Goddess Durga. Shiv Sena welcomes this decision. The court has clarified that this fort is not the property of the Waqf Board. This is the fruit of blessings given by Mother Durga at Durgadi Fort,” the party said in an X post.
दुर्गा माते की जय, शिवसेना झिंदाबाद !
— Shivsena – शिवसेना (@Shivsenaofc) December 10, 2024
कल्याणचा ऐतिहासिक दुर्गाडी किल्ला मशीद नसून दुर्गामातेचे मंदिरच असल्याचा महत्त्वपूर्ण निकाल आज कल्याण जिल्हा व सत्र न्यायालयाने दिला आहे. या निर्णयाचे शिवसेना स्वागत करते. हा किल्ला वक्फ बोर्डाची मालमत्ता नसल्याचं कोर्टाने स्पष्ट केलं आहे.… pic.twitter.com/TghSPoEGP4
It also added that with this decision the long-standing struggle of the Hindus had ended. The party said that several leaders like Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Thackeray, Dharamveer Anand Dighe, our respectable leader Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, etc had protested against the Majlish-e-Mushavreen Majjid Trust who claimed the fort as a Waqf property.
“Shiv Sena took the position that Durga fort has a temple of Durga. Many times Dharamveer Anand Dighe Saheb, and Eknathji Shinde Saheb sang the collective Aarti of the Goddess while raising bells and chanting along with Shiv Sainiks at the base of the fort. It was Balasaheb Thackeray who started the Navratri festival on Durgadi,” the party added.
“This decision is a victory for Hindutva and truth. This is the land that has been sanctified by the footsteps of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has visited this fort. The first armour of Hindu Swarajya was started by the Maharaja himself at Durgadi Fort in Kalyan,” it said glorifying the significance of the fort.
As per the local reports, in the year 1975-76, an application was filed in the Thane District Court claiming that the Durgadi Fort was not a temple but a mosque. The Court case continued for two years before it got transferred to the Kalyan District and Sessions Court. During the period, the site was identified as an alleged Waqf property.
As per the local sources, the Muslims also carried out unauthorized construction at the fort by building a Mosque and painting it in white and green color. Not only this but the steps leading to the fort, trees, stones, and other structures were also painted green. Further, it was also alleged that Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation and senior Police officials failed to take any action against the unauthorized construction. Instead, they asked protesting Hindus to stop demonstrations.
The Muslim religious bodies then sought to transfer the case from the Kalyan District and Sessions Court to the Waqf Board.
Petitioner Dinesh Deshmukh stated that the court rejected this request, declaring that the Durgadi Fort is a Hindu temple of Goddess Durga. Advocates Bhikaji Salvi, Suresh Patwardhan, Jayesh Salvi, and Sachin Kulkarni represented the case on behalf of Hindus in the court.
