A Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka, comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice S.N. Sathyanarayana, has ordered that the construction of 112 commercial shops on a land belonging to the Jamia Masjid (Wakf Board) in Sira is legal, while imposing a fine of Rs. 10,000 on the person who moved the High Court in the matter.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, president of the Jamia Masjid (Wakf Board), Chand Pasha said that convenor of the Sira Town Development and Revolution Forum S.V. Kantharaj moved the High Court stating that the construction of the commercial shops on the land given to Jamia Masjid was illegal. He said that the court has, in its judgment, said that the petitioner did not have any public interest in mind when he moved the court. It dismissed the petition saying that the petitioner had personal and communal intent while approaching court.The court imposed the fine on the petitioner for giving false information and asked him to pay the fine within 15 days.
The issue had resulted in communal clashes on September 29, 2013 leading to tension in Sira town for more than a week.
