The Delhi High Court has rescheduled the hearing to an earlier date of December 1 for a petition related to the prohibition of prayers at the Mughal Mosque in the Mehrauli area.

Last year, the managing committee of the Mughal Mosque, appointed by the Delhi Waqf Board, filed a petition in the high court. They alleged that officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) abruptly and unlawfully halted the practice of offering namaz in the mosque on May 13, 2022, in an entirely arbitrary and hasty manner.

In response to the petitioner's request for an expedited hearing, Justice Prateek Jalan, in a recent order, granted the request and set the next hearing date for December 1, 2023, while canceling the previously scheduled date of January 30, 2024.

According to the petitioner's advocate, M. Sufian Siddiqui, prayers were regularly conducted inside the mosque until the previous year, when they were abruptly halted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) without any prior notice.

The court had recently requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to provide clarification regarding its policy on permitting religious prayers by devotees in religious places situated within protected monuments.

In response to the petition, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stated that the mosque in question is situated within the boundaries of Qutub Minar and falls under the protected area. Consequently, the ASI contends that the offering of prayers cannot be allowed in this location.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has issued a caution, indicating that permitting worship in the Mughal Mosque could not only establish a precedent but might also have an influence on other monuments as well.

The ASI has argued that Qutub Minar is a Monument of National Importance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They have stated that since the time of its protection, neither the monument nor any part of it has been utilized for any form of worship by any community.

The ASI's response has further indicated that the mosque in question falls within the boundaries of the Qutub Minar Complex.