The Delhi High Court has taken notice of a trend of complaints filed against religious sites, specifically observing that a non-governmental organization (NGO) has been repeatedly filing such petitions. The observation came during a February 2026 hearing concerning the Faiz-e-Ilahi Mosque, according to reports.
The court’s warning against encouraging such complaints coincides with a broader pattern of legal challenges and demolitions targeting Muslim establishments in India. Data reviewed by The Quint indicates that 11 demolitions of Muslim establishments between 2024 and 2026 followed complaints or Public Interest Litigations (PILs). This follows 69 Islamic religious sites being either bulldozed or declared illegal in 2025 alone, as reported by the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights (APCR).
The legal actions are occurring alongside the amplification of the “land jihad” narrative, a term used to allege a deliberate effort to alter the demographic composition of India through religious conversion and land acquisition. Several instances have seen ‘bulldozer action’ – a term for swift demolitions – occur even before a full investigation is completed.
In Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, a court recently rejected an appeal from the Muslim side in the case of the Gadhiya Mosque of Tamkuhiraj, paving the way for its demolition. This decision, reported in June 2025, follows a similar pattern of legal challenges leading to the demolition of religious structures.
Areeb Uddin Ahmed, a lawyer at the Allahabad High Court, stated that judicial observations against frivolous PILs serve as a strong deterrent. However, the continued frequency of such legal challenges and subsequent demolitions suggests that the deterrent effect may be limited.
Broader trends indicate a rise in hate speech and religiously motivated violence in India. The South Asia Justice Campaign’s India Persecution Tracker reported 27 Muslims (and one Dalit) killed by Hindu extremist non-state actors in suspected religiously-motivated hate crimes in 2025. The same report details numerous arrests and detentions of Muslims, often related to cow protection laws or social media posts following incidents of violence. The tracker also notes 265+ Muslims arrested nationwide, mostly in Uttar Pradesh, over peaceful ‘I Love Muhammad’ affirmation campaigns.
The Hate Speech Events in India Report 2024, released in February 2025, highlights the economic boycott of Muslims and the involvement of lawyers in legal cases against individuals and communities. The report also details instances of public parades of accused individuals by police, where lawyers attempted to assault them.
