The Supreme Court on Friday (October 17, 2025) upheld an order of the Gujarat High Court permitting the partial demolition of the over 400-year-old Mancha Masjid complex in Ahmedabad to facilitate a road-widening project, holding that the measure was undertaken in the public interest and did not infringe upon the right to religious freedom.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi noted that only a portion of the vacant land and an adjoining platform were to be cleared, while the mosque’s main structure would remain untouched. The Court also observed that a temple, a commercial unit, and a residential property had similarly been earmarked for demolition as part of the same civic project.
“In view of the categorical stand taken by the State authorities and the decision of the High Court that only a part of the vacant land and a platform are to be demolished, we see no reason to interfere with the judgment, especially when a temple, a commercial and a residential property have also been earmarked for demolition for road widening,” the Bench said in its order.
The Court, however, left open the question of whether the site qualified as a waqf property, clarifying that the issue could be adjudicated in appropriate proceedings for the purpose of determining compensation.
