New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday said that the decision of the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid to anoint his eldest son as his successor has no legal sanctity.
While the court’s observation is a big blow to the Bukhari family, which came to India on Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s invitation from Central Asia in 1656, the incumbent Shahi Imam Syed Ahmad Bukhari can heave a sigh of relief with the court refusing to prevent the anointment ceremony scheduled for Saturday, terming it as a private function.
A bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw said the Saturday function is not legal and will not give any special equities in the Imam’s favour.
The court was hearing three public interest litigations and has issued notices to the central government, the Delhi Wakf Board and the Shahi Imam. They have been directed to file their responses by January 28.
The public interest litigations questioned the legality of the Shahi Imam’s decision to anoint his 19-year-old son as Naib (deputy) Imam, saying the India’s largest mosque Jama Masjid is the property of the Delhi Wakf Board and as an employee of the Delhi Wakf Board the Shahi Imam does not have right to unilaterally anoint his son as his successor.
Mughal Emperor Shahjahan had requested the ruler of Bukhera (now in Uzbekistan) to depute an Imam for the Jama Masjid that faces the Red Fort in Old Delhi. Syed Abdul Ghafoor Bukhari was sent to India and took over as Imam of Jama Masjid on July 24, 1656. Shah Jahan later gave the Imam the title of Shahi (royal) Imam.
The Bukhari family stayed back in India and continued to use the title Shahi Imam even after India attained independence from colonial British rule in 1947. Syed Ahmad Bukhari is the 13th member from the Bukhari family to function as Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid.
The central government had already taken a stand that the Jama Masjid is a Delhi Wakf Board property. The Wakf Board administers Muslim religious properties.
The Shahi Imam created a major controversy recently by inviting the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the dinner to be held later this month while not extending an invitation to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bukhari justified his stand saying as the host he can decide the guest list. It is not yet clear if the Pakistan premier will come for the dinner.
“The host decides who to invite. And I have no place for Modi in my heart. Modi has not done anything for Indian Muslims even after coming to power. Indian Muslims have not forgiven him for the 2002 Gujarat riots,” Bukhari had said. His statement was questioned by various quarters who said Bukhari is not entitled to speak on behalf of the entire Indian Muslim community.
Syed Ahmad Bukhari was always seen as a rabble-rouser due to his controversial statements and shifting political loyalties. During the last summer general elections he announced his support for the Congress party, which encountered its worst ever electoral defeat.
