Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya and his supporters, along with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), had started demolishing a school in Mumbai, Maharashtra, after the politician claimed the school was involved in “school jihad.”
The Bombay High Court, however, intervened, granting temporary protection to the institution, directing the BMC to halt proceedings until the next hearing.
Before the demolition, Somaiya in multiple social media posts branded the school as an “unauthorised madrasa,” claiming that it was a prime example of “school jihad.”
In a post on X, the BJP leader announced that the demolition of the “illegal” four-storey building had begun with the help of Mumbai Police. BMC, on July 14, carried out the demolition, echoing Somaiya’s claims that it was an unauthorised structure and the civic action was part of its routine drive against illegal school buildings in Mumbai.
With Mumbai Police deployed during the demolition, Somaiya remained at the location with his supporters.
School trust challenges demolition order
Run by the Scholar Education Trust, the Tehzeeb Islamic English School in Govandi, Mumbai, caters to nearly 600 students, mostly from economically weaker sections
The trust challenged the action in the Bombay High Court, alleging a “complete breakdown of statutory machinery” and “deliberate administrative stonewalling” against Muslims. The petition claimed the action was motivated by “several political vendettas.”
The trust further argued that the move breached a 15-day window ordered by the Supreme Court. Pointing to Somaiya’s campaign against illegal slum schools, the petition noted that the state government had previously promised a policy to regularise such facilities.
The trust argued that the authorities failed to show the building was a C-1, highly dilapidated structure, calling for an immediate demolition. It added that the building was utilised for educational purposes, was structurally sound and that demolition during monsoon was contradictory to Maharashtra’s disaster management protocols.
The High Court subsequently granted interim relief, barring BMC from razing the building until the trust’s appeal was heard. It questioned the rush, asking why the civic body acted hastily while a statutory remedy was still pending.
BJP leader Somaiya had launched a campaign targeting Muslim-majority areas and slums, repeatedly claiming such neighbourhoods hosted illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
