Damaged structure after Demolition drive carried out by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) of an alleged illegal area by Faiz-e-Elahi Masjid, Turkman Gate, near Ramlila Maidan inn New Delhi on Thursday, January 08, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Terming it a “sheer misuse of PIL jurisdiction”, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (January 14, 2026) came down heavily on an NGO for repeatedly filing public interest litigations alleging encroachments by mosques in the city.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, while hearing two separate PILs filed by the Save India Foundation, observed that the organisation was misusing the Court’s PIL jurisdiction and was raising only “selective” issues in society.
The Bench questioned why the NGO was concerned only with encroachments of one particular kind. It noted that the frequency of similar PILs filed by the same organisation was high and “disturbing”.
“Are you seeking your name in the Guinness Book of World Records?” the court remarked, asking the NGO to also look out for people struggling for basic amenities and to extend help to them.
In the PILs, the NGO had alleged encroachments by a mosque and a madrasa in south Delhi, claiming that the land belonged to the government.
Counsel representing the Delhi government also submitted before the court that the structures mentioned in the PILs were encroachments.
In its representation, the Delhi Waqf Board said that the mosque was a notified structure. It added that the Delhi Development Authority had also participated in the demarcation of the land.
The court posted the cases for further hearing on January 21.
Published – January 14, 2026 09:50 pm IST
