By The Sampadak Express
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by the Delhi Waqf Board asserting ownership over a property in the Shahdara area, currently occupied by a Gurudwara. The court upheld that the Gurudwara has been functioning at the site for several decades and should remain undisturbed.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma firmly stated during the hearing, “There is a Gurudwara, let it be. Even if there is any claim, you should relinquish that claim saying a Gurudwara is already there.”
The plea was filed by the Delhi Waqf Board challenging a 2010 ruling by the Delhi High Court, which had earlier dismissed the Board’s suit seeking possession of the disputed property. The Waqf Board maintained that the land was a waqf property and had been used for religious purposes “since time immemorial.”
During the arguments, the Board’s counsel cited trial court records and witness statements suggesting a mosque once stood on the site, and that a “kind of Gurudwara” had later been built, though allegedly unregistered.
However, the apex court rejected this narrative, stating unequivocally, “Not some kind of a Gurudwara, it is a fully functional Gurudwara.”
The bench also referred to evidence presented during the original trial, including a key witness testimony that confirmed the Gurudwara had been operating on the premises since 1947.
With this ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed the Delhi High Court’s decision and brought a conclusive end to the legal battle over the Shahdara property.
