The Gujarat High Court issued a contempt notice to Junagadh’s Municipal Commissioner and Senior Town Planner for allegedly defying a Supreme Court order and state government policy by demolishing the 300-year-old Hajrat Jok Alisha Dargah, observing that prima facie their actions may amount to contempt of court, LiveLaw reported.
A division bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice R.T. Vachhani observed, “Prima facie, at this stage, we are of the opinion that the respondents have acted in defiance of the directions of the Supreme Court and the Policy dated 19.04.2024.”
The court noted that “since liberty is reserved in favour of the respective High Courts to proceed in Contempt if any of the directions issued by the Supreme Court are violated, we deem appropriate to call upon the respondents.”
The High Court was hearing a contempt petition filed by the trustee of the 300-year-old Hajrat Jok Alisha Dargah, alleging deliberate disobedience of the Supreme Court’s January 31, 2018, order.
According to the petition, despite the apex court’s directions, Senior Town Planner Vivek Kiran Parekh issued a notice on January 31, 2025, demanding that the Dargah authorities produce documents proving construction and ownership of the land.
The notice warned that failure to do so would result in the Dargah being classified as an unauthorised structure and demolished.
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