The September 2 judgment upheld eviction, it did not expressly order demolition of the structure. City magistrate Kuldeep Singh said his July order had directed “bedakhali,” or removal from the premises, and the building was consequently removed. The administration maintained it was enforcing the eviction order, while the mosque management argues eviction cannot automatically authorise demolition.

Muslim organizations condemn the rapid demolition of a historic mosque in Saharanpur, questioning justice and due process in the act.

Manoj Kumar Yadav of the state archaeology department said the team’s primary objective was to determine the antiquity and nature of the structure and correlate it with historical…