HC directs forest dept not to interfere with mosque, madrassa sans due process | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: Telangana high court has directed the forest department not to interfere with the peaceful possession, administration and management of Sunni Masjid Osmania and Deeni madrassa in the Ananthagiri Hills of Vikarabad district without following due process of law.Disposing of a writ petition filed by the institution’s mutawalli, Mohammed Faiyaz Ali, Justice Surepalli Nanda clarified that the petitioner institution shall not encroach upon any reserved forest land under the guise of the court’s order. The judge also left it open to the forest department to take action in accordance with law if any such encroachment is found.The petitioner approached the high court alleging arbitrary interference by forest officials, claiming they entered the premises without issuing statutory notices and orally directed occupants to vacate the property.The petitioner also referred to an incident on July 17, in which officials allegedly disrupted Friday prayers and interfered with educational activities at the madrassa.In its response, the forest department denied the allegations and informed the court that its officials were only discharging their statutory duties to safeguard reserved forest land from unauthorised encroachments, waste dumping and ecological degradation.Taking note of the waqf board registration documents produced by the petitioner, as well as the forest department’s submission that it had no intention of unlawfully dispossessing the institution’s management, the court disposed of the writ petition.
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