India To Demolish 400-Year-Old Mosque in Gujarat

September 24, 2025

Gujarat High Court allows partial demolition of 400-year-old Mansa Masjid to ease traffic, emphasizing urban development over religious preservation in a legal ruling.

Photo by Fuzail Ahmad

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Key Takeaways

The court ruled on September 23, dismissing the trust’s plea against the demolition.
The project to reduce traffic between Kalupur railway station and Ahmedabad Metro Junction.
The decision is similar to 2024 ruling involving a mosque in Gir Somnath.

AHMEDABAD — The Gujarat High Court has permitted the partial demolition of the 400-year-old Mansa Masjid in Saraspur, rejecting a legal challenge from the mosque’s trust.

The ruling on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, allows the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to proceed with a road-widening project designed to alleviate severe traffic congestion on the route connecting Kalupur railway station to the Ahmedabad Metro Junction.

Justice Mauna M Bhatt delivered the decision, refusing to grant a four-week stay sought by the Manch Masjid Trust. The court found that the Municipal Commissioner’s powers under the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act override the Waqf Act in this case.

The trust had argued that the mosque, believed to be approximately 400 years old, holds significant cultural and religious importance and that the demolition violates constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. They also claimed the AMC failed to consider objections filed in January 2025.

State authorities maintained that the project is essential for urban development and traffic management, asserting that all legal procedures were followed.

The court’s decision emphasizes the priority of public interest in infrastructure projects.

This ruling echoes a September 2024 case where the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the demolition of a 500-year-old mosque in Gir Somnath district, reinforcing the legal precedent for such developments.