Residents caught up in an ongoing demolition campaign across Rajasthan's border districts have won themselves a two-week reprieve, after the Supreme Court stepped in with interim relief on Friday.
The drive, according to the petition that brought the matter before the Court, has been sweeping up a wide range of structures — mosques, madrasas, dargahs, homes, and other buildings alike. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind approached the Court on behalf of 40 people affected by the demolitions, seeking urgent protection while the underlying legal questions get sorted out.
Rather than wading into the disputed facts itself, the Supreme Court took the view that this was better suited to the jurisdictional High Court. It noted that the case involved contested factual questions — the kind that a High Court, closer to the ground, is generally better placed to examine. With that in mind, the Bench allowed the petitioners to pursue their case before the Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur. In the meantime, though, it ordered that no demolitions take place for the next two weeks, giving residents breathing room while they take their fight to the High Court.
Reacting to the order, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Mahmood Asad Madani said the organisation intends to move quickly, approaching the Rajasthan High Court's Division Bench without delay. He reaffirmed that the group would continue pursuing every legal avenue available to protect the affected residents.
For now, the two-week window buys time. What happens next depends on how the Jodhpur bench weighs in on the facts the Supreme Court chose not to adjudicate itself.