HC disposes of statue plea after DDA, MCD assurance

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Monday ended a dispute over the installation of freedom fighter Maharani Lakshmi Bai's statue at the Shahi Idgah Park in Sadar Bazar.
It disposed of a plea in this regard after DDA and MCD assured it that the rights to perform prayers or any religious rites would not be endangered in any way due to the installation of the statue.
MCD informed the bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela that the statue had been installed by the MCD in a park owned by DDA.On its part, the petitioner, Shahi Idgah Managing Committee, submitted that the mistrust that had brewed had been resolved due to the court's intervention. The committee had earlier challenged the installation of the freedom fighter's statue.
During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and MCD stated that the rights of persons offering prayers at the site in question had not been endangered by the installation of the statue and the adjoining boundary wall. Following the submissions, the bench recorded it and disposed of the appeal.
"The counsel for DDA and MCD stated that the appeal has become infructuous as the statue of Maharani Lakshmi Bai has been installed at one corner of the Idgah Park, owned by DDA, and that too after the construction of a boundary wall. They clarified that the right of the appellant to offer prayers and perform prayers is not endangered in any manner by the installation of the statue or the boundary wall," the bench noted.