Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has asked the Uttar Pradesh govt whether it can seal a place of worship without any notice or giving any opportunity of hearing to the property owners.Hearing a writ petition filed by a Muzaffarnagar resident, Ahsan Ali, who had moved this court against the sealing of a mosque on his land, a division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan asked the state to explain under what authority of law it can seal a place of worship.“Is there any authority under law to seal a place of worship under construction without issuance of prior notice or providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner,” the high court asked the state govt in its Mar 18 order.The HC also asked if owners needed permission from the state to carry out construction within a place of worship on their land.Ali submitted that he is a lawful owner of a plot of land in a village in Muzaffarnagar. He had purchased the land from a local resident Praveen Kumar Jain in 2019 via a registered sale deed.He alleged that authorities recently sealed the mosque constructed on the land after he started raising a boundary around it. The action was taken because the authorities claimed that the construction was illegal and no prior permission was obtained.The petitioner’s counsel said that no notice or opportunity of hearing was provided to him before the sealing of the premises.The court then said: “Let specific instructions, supported by an affidavit, be obtained by the state and placed before this court on the next date of hearing.”
