Idgah’s panel to examine spot for Rani Jhansi statue

The Delhi high court on Friday permitted three representatives of the Shahi Idgah Managing Committee to visit the park in the city’s Sadar Bazar area to suggest a different location for the installation of the statue of Rani Jhansi inside the park.
A bench of chief justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order after being informed that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had already relocated the statue from Karol Bagh’s Jhandewalan roundabout to the Shahi Idgah.
The court asked three committee representatives to visit on Saturday the area of the park where the statue was installed, and it fixed October 7 as the next date for the hearing. It said it will pass an order in case the committee still did not agree to the erection of the statue.
“In case you are agreeable (to the installation of the statue), we can finish it, maybe at some different location (inside the park). If you are agreeable, we can do it… We can take it up on Monday. Get it resolved. Take a team. We’ll pass the order in case the (committee) is not agreeable. Three representatives of the appellant are permitted to visit the area where the statue has been installed tomorrow,” the bench told senior advocate Viraj Datar, representing the committee.
The court was responding to a plea filed by the committee against a single judge’s September 23 order rejecting its plea against installing the statue of Maharani of Jhansi. In its September 23 order, the single judge observed that the surrounding area inside the Idgah boundary, which are parks or open ground, belonged to the DDA, and the committee did not have a legal or fundamental right to oppose the installation.
On Tuesday, the high court sought an answer from the committee if it was agreeable to the installation of the statue of Maharani of Jhansi at the inner corner section of the Shahi Idgah Park in Sadar Bazar. Underlining that Rani Laxmi Bai is a national hero, and not a religious figure, the court wondered why the committee opposed to the installation. “You must volunteer yourself rather than the court giving court order in this. She (Rani Laxmi Bai) is a national figure. She is not a religious figure. Ask your clients if they can make an accommodation. It’s not making sense to us, why is the passion so high? Today, the commissioner has imposed 144 in the city, and one of the reasons is this,” the court had said.
However, on Friday, the committee’s counsel submitted that the statutory authorities had already installed the statute inside the park, in violation of the orders of the Delhi Minority Commission to maintain the status quo.
The counsel for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) submitted that although the civic body had installed the statue in a different area, there was no question of hurting the sentiments of any community.