{
  "id": 865589,
  "title": "Hours before demolition, Gujarat High Court stops action against ‘Qabarstan’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/hours-before-demolition-gujarat-high-court-stops-action-against",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-14T11:28:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/legal-news/gujarat-high-court-quashes-waqf-demolition-bhavnagar-qabarstan-10833304/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On the eve of demolition, the Gujarat High Court intervened on Tuesday to halt plans to raze a century-old Muslim burial ground and other religious structures in Ghogha, Bhavnagar district. The court ruled that the local revenue authority had initiated demolition proceedings before the 90-day appeal window against its own initial order had even commenced. The Waqf committee overseeing the 'Qabarastan' site was served a final notice on August 10, granting them until the following day, August 11, to remove any encroachments, or face immediate demolition. The Khankah-e-Khizar A S Waqf Committee, deemed an unauthorized encroacher by revenue officials, secured the High Court's relief on August 11 - the same day the demolition window was set to close. The petition claimed the land had been utilized by the Muslim community for burial and religious purposes for decades, predating its 1987 designation as government land. They also presented a certificate from the Ghogha Gram Panchayat confirming the structures' longstanding existence and records demonstrating property taxes had been paid. Tensions escalated on June 3, 2026, when the Land Records Inspector and Additional Mamlatdar, along with a local village head, served a notice to the Waqf committee, demanding relevant documents within five days. The committee responded on July 2, asserting the site's long-standing religious use. Another notice followed on July 29, giving the committee only one day, until July 30, to respond. On August 6, the Additional Mamlatdar ordered the Waqf committee to dismantle the encroachments within two days and imposed a Rs 250 fine. The petitioner argued that they only received the order on August 8. Two days later, on August 10, they received an undated Section 202 notice, warning of demolition by 5 pm on August 11, with non-compliance resulting in immediate demolition. The Waqf committee appealed to the High Court, arguing that receiving the Section 202 notice so late in the day, with only hours remaining to invoke legal remedies, denied them a fair opportunity to contest the structure's destruction. Their attorneys, E B Huseni and Rizwan Shaikh, did not contest the underlying Section 61 order, noting that the Land Revenue Code allows for a 90-day statutory appeal against such actions. They contended that the Section 202 notice, issued without allowing the petitioner to file the required appeal, violated their statutory right to do so, and thus, should be quashed. Assistant Government Pleader Jayneel Parikh for the State conceded that the Section 202 notice was issued without providing an opportunity to file the statutory appeal. Consequently, the High Court ordered the Section 202 notice to be nullified and set aside.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
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        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/cant-deny-to-even-trespasser-calcutta-high-court-orders-power",
        "published": "2026-08-14T11:00:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "TASMAC irregularities case: Madras High Court reserves orders on plea to quash DVAC’s FIR",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/tasmac-irregularities-case-madras-high-court-reserves-orders-on-plea",
        "published": "2026-08-14T12:19:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "People Daily Kenya",
        "title": "Kingi appeals High Court judgment ordering Senate to pay Gachagua Ksh50M",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/kingi-appeals-high-court-judgment-ordering-senate-to-pay-gachagua",
        "published": "2026-08-14T12:22:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}