Current situation in the Erandol Mosque Complex: SC

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: On April 19, the Supreme Court upheld the status quo for the Jumma Masjid complex in Erandol in the Jalgaon district. The Maharashtra Waqf Board would continue to oversee and manage the property until further directives.

While amending the April 4 ruling of the Bombay high court’s Aurangabad bench, the supreme court permitted devotees to enter the property and ordered that the Erandol Municipal Council keep possession of the key to the main entry gate.

The SC bench, made up of Justices Surya Kanta and KV Viswanathan, said, “There shall be status quo with regard to the masjid compound and the same shall be under the management and control of the waqf board or the appellant committee with the consent of the waqf board until further orders.”

The court said, “The public at large and/or members of other religions shall be allowed to visit the other ancient monuments/temples without any disturbance, and entry and egress to other temples or monuments in the main compound shall be free from all types of hindrances.”

“The municipal council shall have the duty and responsibility to depute an official to open that gate well before the time for namaz in the morning and till all the namaz are performed throughout the day,” the Supreme Court further said.

The SC ruled that no intrusion of any kind would be allowed by any of the parties, even if the keys were given to the chief executive officer or executive officer of the municipal council throughout the day.
By submitting a special leave petition in opposition to the high court ruling, the Jumma Masjid Trust petitioned the Supreme Court.

“We argued that the high court’s order to turn over the masjid’s keys to the CEO of the Erandol Municipal Council by April 13 had seriously hampered the petitioner’s ability to exercise their right to five times a day of prayer because the locals would not be able to pray before dawn, or Fajr namaz, or after dusk, or Isha namaz,” attorney S. S. Kazi, speaking on behalf of the trust, told TOI.

“Therefore, the HC directive was detrimental to the rights and interests that the Muhammadians have been enjoying since 1861 AD,” he said.
“We now have relief from the SC,” he said.