In an apparent retaliation to the clashes, district authorities allegedly, under the pretext of removing encroachment, demolished nine mosques and shrines near Somnath temple on September 28.
The Supreme Court Friday restrained the Gujarat government from assigning a parcel of land in Gir Somnath district, where Muslim religious sites and residences were demolished allegedly illegally last month, to any third party till further orders, reported The Hindu.
A bench headed by Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also refused to pass an order of status quo on the demolition drive after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state government, assured the court that the land would remain with it and not be given to a third party.
“In this light, we don’t find necessary that any interim order be passed,” the court said, according to Bar and Bench.
The bench was hearing a special leave petition filed by the Auliya-E-Deen Committee against a Gujarat High Court order from October 3 that refused to order status quo on the demolition drive.
On September 28, nine mosques and shrines, apart from a few homes in the Prabhas Patan area near the Somnath temple, were allegedly under the pretext of removing encroachments from government land demolished by the district authorities.
Shortly after that, another petitioner trust representing the Patni Muslim community in Prabhas Patan- filed a contempt petition alleging that the district authorities had bulldozed the Muslim religious sites and residences illegally.
