On Saturday morning, 5th September, a portion of a mosque located inside the Saharanpur Collectorate premises in Uttar Pradesh was demolished by the administration. The action came after a court upheld an earlier City Magistrate order regarding the disputed site.
Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: A mosque inside Saharanpur Collectorate was demolished by the administration using six bulldozers amid heavy police deployment. The action followed a District Court ruling upholding an eviction order declaring the structure illegal on government land pic.twitter.com/6uhhRyqFxm
— IANS (@ians_india) September 5, 2026
The mosque had been sealed late Friday night, 4th September, following which security was increased in and around the Collectorate. Entry points were closed, and police personnel were deployed across the area to prevent any law-and-order situation during the demolition.
Court backs government land claim
The latest action followed a decision by District Judge Satendra Kumar on Thursday, 3rd September. The court rejected a petition filed by the Muslim side and upheld the City Magistrate’s 16th July 2026 order, which had classified the disputed land as government property.
The City Magistrate’s order had directed that the mosque premises be vacated. After the district court refused to stop the action, the administration moved ahead with sealing the structure and removing the portion that it said stood on government land.
An Additional District Magistrate and a team from the Municipal Corporation were present during the operation. Police forces from more than 10 police stations, along with the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), were deployed in the area as a precaution.
Dispute over the mosque and land
The dispute is centred on the mosque’s presence within the Collectorate premises and the ownership status of the land on which it stands. The administration has maintained that the structure occupies government land and had acted on the City Magistrate’s order to vacate the premises.
The Muslim side, however, has challenged the administration’s action. It has argued that while the City Magistrate ordered the premises to be vacated, there was no specific direction for demolition of the mosque.
Former MP Fazlur Rahman urged the administration not to take hasty action, saying the matter would now be challenged before the High Court. He said the Muslim side still had around 22 days to pursue its legal options.
Congress MP Imran Masood also said the matter would be taken to the High Court and appealed for peace. He said revenue records of the disputed land carried the names of Wahid Khan and Yaqub Khan and argued that the long-standing presence of the religious structure and historical revenue records should also be considered.
Security remained tight around the Saharanpur Collectorate as the demolition operation continued on Saturday.
