The Race Course mosque near the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi has been served a notice to vacate within six days after the Land and Development Office (LNDO) declared the site unauthorised, according to a report by Jagran – New Delhi. Electricity and water supplies to the premises have also been disconnected as part of the reported action.
The administration’s position, as reported, is that the mosque stands on government land. The site, however, has been represented as waqf property, creating a dispute over its legal status and the records applicable to the premises. The reported notice concerns both the mosque complex and the immediate administrative action taken against it.
The development has drawn intervention from the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. A delegation led by the organisation’s general secretary, Maulana Muhammad Hakimuddin Qasmi, met Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and submitted a memorandum on behalf of Jamiat president Maulana Mahmood Madani.
In the memorandum, Jamiat described the mosque and the adjoining cemetery as having historical and religious significance. The organisation claimed that the site appears in the New Delhi Municipal Council’s heritage list, the Delhi Gazette of 1977 and a revised list maintained by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. These claims were presented by the delegation in support of its request for protection and a review of the proposed action.
Jamiat has asked the Union government to obtain reports from the Delhi Waqf Board and the NDMC before any further action is taken. It has also sought a halt to demolition or other coercive measures until the complete legal process is followed. The organisation requested the restoration of electricity and water and arrangements to ensure the movement of worshippers to the site.
Rijiju heard the delegation’s demands and, according to the report, assured it that he would make every possible effort in the matter. The report does not provide details of any written order issued by the minister or confirm whether the LNDO has modified, withdrawn or extended the six-day deadline.
The dispute places several public authorities and records at the centre of the next steps. The LNDO’s land and estate position, the Waqf Board’s property records and the NDMC’s heritage documentation will be relevant to determining how the site is classified and what procedure applies. The reported claims by Jamiat regarding the heritage lists have not been independently detailed in the supplied report.
The immediate issue is therefore the enforcement of the LNDO notice, including the utility disconnections and the six-day vacation period, while the competing descriptions of the property remain under discussion. Further developments are expected to depend on the responses of the LNDO, the Delhi Waqf Board, the NDMC and the Union Minority Affairs Ministry.
