A patch of government land in West Delhi that city planners set aside decades ago for a public hospital has been grabbed to illegally build a mosque, a paper trail of official records and right-to-information replies has revealed.
The land was never allotted for religious use, as per official documents – an encroachment Delhi authorities are legally bound to demolish but have so far hesitated to act upon.
At issue is the Ahle Islam Jama Masjid, right opposite Guru Gobind Singh Government Hospital, in Raghubir Nagar.
A review of documents from three key agencies – the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) – confirms that no allotment, lease or permission was ever issued for a mosque at the site.
On the contrary, the land was acquired from villagers in 1961 for public purposes and specifically earmarked for a hospital.
In a key development nine days ago, the Delhi High Court directed officials to determine which agency owns the land and to remove the unauthorised structure.
All documents related to the case were painstakingly obtained over two years by Save India Foundation and its founder Preet Singh (who also goes by name Preet Sirohi) and shared exclusively with Rashtra Jyoti for this report.
What the Records Show
Land acquired in 1961 for resettlement of slums
DDA files list multiple parcels – Khasra Nos. 23//7, 23//8/1, 23//8/2, 23//13 and 23//14 in village Khayala – as acquired in 1961 and allotted on October 3, 1962 to the then JJ Slum Wing of MCD for planned development, including a hospital.
A separate notification on May 27, 1988, transferred Raghubir Nagar and other resettlement colonies to MCD for maintenance, confirming municipal jurisdiction over the area.
Official confirmation – no allotment for a mosque
After a complaint by Save India Foundation’s Preet Sirohi to the Delhi government’s Special Task Force (STF) on May 18, 2024, DUSIB referred the case to the West Zone of MCD on June 29, 2024, asking for action against “ongoing illegal and unauthorised construction”.
MCD, in turn, wrote to the police on July 23 and August 2, 2024, seeking support to inspect what it called an “unauthorised religious structure” on public land. When MCD officials visited on August 8, 2024, they noted the structure already existed and that no fresh construction was underway – suggesting the encroachment was complete by then.
Twice – in RTI replies dated April 22, 2024, and June 6, 2025 – DUSIB stated unambiguously: “…no allotment has been made for Masjid at F-Block, Raghubir Nagar opp. Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, Delhi by IAL Section, DUSIB.“
Petition in court to remove encroachment
A petition in July this year filed in the Delhi High Court by Save India Foundation argued the mosque obstructs a public footpath and constricts access to the hospital – posing risks to pedestrians and potentially slowing emergency vehicles.
The petition states:
“That the present writ petition is against the inactivity of the officials of DUSIB, MCD, DDA, PWD, Police, who all have failed in remove the encroachment from the public land which is violation of the law of the land.”
It further states,
“Plot allotted for construction of hospital has been encroached upon and pseudo religious structure as a Mosque constructed on the encroached land brazenly which not only blocks the passage of the persons using the footpath and the road. Despite specific complaint since 18/5/2024 on the portal of STF, no effective action taken till date and the authorities are tossing the action from one to other despite mandate of STF by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”
On October 29, 2025, a bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya with Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed DUSIB to attend to the encroachment complaint “with expedition”.
The court said that after determining whether DUSIB is the landowner, the agency must take appropriate legal action to remove any unauthorised encroachment and construction.
While the order does not itself decide the fate of the structure, it places a clear, time-sensitive obligation on DUSIB to verify ownership and act.
If DUSIB confirms it owns the land – and the documentary record strongly suggests it does – the order effectively triggers the statutory pathway to removal.
Summary
The collective documentary record – acquisition files, allotment notes, RTI replies, inter-agency correspondence and inspection memos – points to this conclusion: no lawful permission exists for the Ahle Islam Jama Masjid to occupy the Raghubir Nagar plot. The land remains public property reserved for a hospital, and the structure meets the very definition of an illegal encroachment.
Any responses from the relevant civic agencies referenced in this report will be reflected in an update.
