New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will hear the plea seeking a stay on the demolition of Afzal Khan’s tomb on Friday.
The tomb is located in Satara, Maharashtra.
Advocate Nizam Pasha mentioned the matter today before the Supreme Court.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice JB Pardiwala said that it will hear the matter tomorrow.
The plea was filed by Hazrat Mohd Afzal Khans Memorial Society seeking to direct the State of Maharashtra to ensure that no damage is caused to the tomb/dargah of Afzal Khan situated in Pratapgarh, Satara, Maharashtra.
According to the petition, since today morning, i.e., 10.11.2022, there is the widespread belief that the Tomb of Afzal Khan will be demolished today.
“A local online news channel has been running live coverage of the demolition of unauthorized structures around Afzal Khan’s Tomb in Satara, Maharashtra. Screenshots from the said live coverage show that men have climbed the roof of the tomb/dargah with the help of a ladder and are attempting to demolish it,” the plea said.
The petitioner submitted that they are apprehensive that damage will be done or the tomb of Afzal Khan may be demolished today and beseeches the top Court to issue appropriate directions to protect the tomb of Afzal Khan that has existed on site since before November 1659.
According to the petition, Afzal Khan was a general who served the Adil Shahi dynasty of the Bijapur Sultanate in India and played an important role in the southern expansion of the Bijapur Sultanate by subjugating the Nayaka chiefs who had taken control of the former Vijayanagara territory. Afzal Khan was defeated and killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on 20.11.1659, the petitioner said.
According to the petition, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur which formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire and is a duly venerated and important leader in Indian history.
The Satara district administration in Maharashtra on Thursday demolished unauthorized structures that stood on government land around the tomb of Afzal Khan, a general of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. Khan was killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the foot of Pratapgad Fort in the district in November 1659. Subsequently, a tomb was built at the spot.
The demolition was carried out as per the High Court’s order, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, adding that it was a “proud day”.
The demolition took place on the day Khan was killed by the legendary Maratha king in 1659. It is observed as `Shivpratap Din’ by some organizations in Maharashtra.
The action started in the early hours of Thursday amid heavy police security and it still going on, officials said.
Satara collector Ruchesh Jaiwanshi told PTI that unauthorized structures were spread over 15 to 20 gunthas of land (one guntha is equal to 1,089 square feet).
Some portion of the land belongs to the forest department while some parcels belong to the revenue department, he added. “Today is a proud day for everyone as today is Shivpratap din. On this day, Afzal Khan was killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” deputy CM Fadnavis told Marathi newschannels elsewhere.
“In 2007, the court had ordered removal of the encroachment. In 2017, we started the process but some legal problems came up,” he added. “There were demands (of removal of encroachment) from `Shiv-premis’ (Shivaji Maharaj’s followers) but when they staged protests, cases were registered against them and the encroachment was never removed. Today, it is a matter of satisfaction for everyone that the entire encroachment has been removed,” Fadnavis said.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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