LONDON: Peterborough metropolis council argued on the excessive court docket right here on Monday that its choice to promote a fancy housing a Hindu temple to a Muslim affiliation to redevelop it as a mosque and Islamic centre was “not illegal”.Catherine Rowlands, representing the council, mentioned the very fact the Hindu neighborhood would lose the one temple they’d in a 35-mile radius didn’t make the choice to promote the New England Advanced to the UK Islamic Mission (UKIM) — who plan to construct Masjid Khadijah there — unlawful, nor was it a breach of public sector equality obligation.“Protected traits (eg Hindu religion) should be considered when reaching a call, however don’t dictate a call,” Rowlands mentioned, mentioning the Hindus had been protected by tenancy rights till the positioning was redeveloped, at which level they’d be evicted.
“It’s the council’s place that the Hindu neighborhood is valued and we wish them to remain,” she mentioned. This drew loud laughter from Hindus within the public gallery, some carrying “Jai Shree Ram” orange T-shirts. A coach of Hindus had come from Peterborough and stuffed an overflowing courtroom.“Peterborough is an enormous place — there are many different premises,” Rowlands mentioned as Hindus within the public gallery shook their heads. “The council has made provides of different premises.”Justice Morris questioned why the council had achieved this if UKIM had set a fundraising goal of 2035. “It might occur subsequent week,” Rowlands mentioned. “They might win the lottery.”The council determined to promote the positioning to UKIM on Feb 10 though Bharat Hindu Samaj (BHS) is a sitting tenant that has leased Unit 6 since 1986 and had been negotiating to purchase the constructing for a decade. BHS is searching for a judicial evaluation of the choice and calling for the court docket to quash it.UKIM bid £1.4 million (about Rs 18 crore) for the positioning and introduced proof of £5.4 million (Rs 69.2 crore) money. Bharat Hindu Samaj bid £900,000 (Rs 11.5 crore) plus £504,000 (Rs 6.4 crore) in “social worth” for its neighborhood companies.“Peterborough council is tough up. We want the cash,” Rowlands mentioned.
