Mumbai: In a contentious action, Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished the 90-year-old Shri 1008 Parshwanath Derasar, a revered Digambar Jain temple in Vile Parle (East), labeling the structure as illegal.
The demolition occurred despite ongoing legal battles that reached the Supreme Court, though no ruling favored the temple trustees. On Wednesday morning, under heavy police protection, civic authorities proceeded with the demolition even as devotees made an urgent, last-minute appeal for a stay order. However, the structure was razed before any court intervention could be obtained.
Anil Shah, a trustee of the temple, told reporters that the temple had existed since 1935, emphasizing that municipal guidelines deem structures built prior to 1961-62 as legally valid. Shah accused municipal officials of conspiring to remove the temple, which holds significant religious value for the Jain community.
The demolition was accompanied by a reported police baton charge to disperse devotees protesting the action. Despite losing the physical temple structure, devotees have continued their worship rituals at the location, vowing to rebuild the temple through legal means.
Local MLA Parag Alavani from Vile Parle stated he had requested municipal officials to postpone the demolition to permit adequate time for a judicial review, as the Supreme Court had provided an eight-day window to submit supporting documents at the lower court. However, BMC officials proceeded, citing prior judicial rulings that deemed the structure unauthorized.
Officials from BMC’s K-East Ward stated that the issue had been under litigation for two decades, spanning civil courts, the High Court, and the Supreme Court, and maintained that the absence of any stay order justified their decision to demolish the temple according to established procedures.
The Jain community, outraged by the incident, has since organized protest rallies demanding accountability and justice from authorities.