The process to voluntarily remove a portion of Ujjain’s historic Shahi Masjid for a road-widening project resumed on Tuesday morning after talks between the local administration, the Shahar Qazi and officials linked to the mosque management, a committee member said on Monday.
The development came on a day of tension in the Madhya Pradesh city, where police used tear gas to disperse a crowd that threw stones while protesting the proposed demolition. Later, the Madhya Pradesh High Court disposed of two appeals on the issue after the Muslim side and civic authorities told the court that a settlement had been reached.
Numainda Committee member Fahim Sikandar told reporters that an agreement had been reached to begin the work peacefully. He said the Muslim community respects the road-widening project being undertaken ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain and is cooperating in the removal of the affected portion of the mosque.
He said the committee had tried to keep the religious site as safe as possible, but after no consensus could be reached, it was decided to demolish the portion that was obstructing the road project.
According to Sikandar, the administration did not initially bring machines and equipment for the demolition, and community members themselves began removing the affected section of the mosque wall. He said a final decision on how much of the structure will be removed is still pending, with discussions continuing on whether three to eight feet of the wall will be taken down.
Sikandar said the decision on Sunday night had not reached everyone concerned, which kept the situation tense for some time and led to stone-pelting on Monday.
He said the situation calmed after senior members explained that the work was being carried out voluntarily. He added that the removal work could take seven to eight days and machines would be used if needed, with special attention to safety throughout the process.
Later in the day, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, comprising Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Jai Kumar Pillai, disposed of separate appeals after the petitioners said a settlement had been reached with the Ujjain Municipal Corporation over the removal of a portion of the mosque.
The court also ruled that the civic body’s assurances and interim notice in the Shahi Masjid case would be binding on it. After the hearing, lawyer Kuldeep Pathak, who represented one of the Muslim parties, said the court had disposed of the writ appeal on the basis of the agreement and had directed both sides to abide by it.
He said the administration had sought to demolish around 9.5 feet of the mosque for the road widening, but the agreement was to remove around 3 feet.
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