An eviction notice issued to the over 100-year-old Race Course Mosque near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence on Lok Kalyan Marg has triggered a dispute between central land authorities and representatives who cite the site’s Waqf and heritage records. The mosque’s imam, Mohammed Harun, said local authorities gave him six days to vacate and that electricity and water connections were disconnected.
A public notice displayed at the site by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) identified the land as central government property and named the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) as the executing agency. The notice warned that unauthorised occupation, encroachment or construction on the approximately two-bigha premises would constitute a legal offence subject to punitive action.
Harun alleged that the mosque’s gates were locked and security personnel deployed, restricting worshippers from offering prayers. He has been associated with the mosque for nearly four decades. The report did not include the text of the eviction notice beyond the details stated in the public notice or provide an L&DO or CPWD response to the allegations regarding access and utility connections.
The dispute centres on the legal status and protection of the site, which includes the mosque and an adjoining graveyard behind Safdarjung Tomb. Community representatives and legal advocates cited a Delhi Administration Gazette notification dated September 8, 1977, which they said formally recorded the two-bigha property as Waqf land under Entry No. 18.
They also pointed to a New Delhi Municipal Council notification dated October 1, 2009, designating the structure as a protected heritage site. Harun said a survey conducted in 2021 had not classified the mosque as an encroachment. The report did not independently establish how the 1977 Waqf entry, the 2009 heritage notification and the L&DO’s claim of central government ownership are to be reconciled.
The matter has drawn political intervention. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi urged Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to intervene and criticised the Delhi Waqf Board for not challenging the eviction order in court despite its statutory responsibilities. AAP leader Amanatullah Khan said Delhi Waqf Board officials had assured him that the mosque remained safe on registered Waqf land.
Delhi Police denied reports of demolition action against religious structures in the area. The police acknowledged recent judicial directions concerning the relocation of nearby slum clusters, but the report did not indicate that the mosque itself was covered by those directions.
Following the public controversy, the Delhi Waqf Board petitioned the L&DO, seeking protection for the site and restoration of essential utility connections. The board’s petition and the authorities’ response will determine the next immediate step in a dispute where land ownership, heritage status, religious use and access to public utilities are now being contested together.
