The notice issued by the Railways does not even have any “date, signature or stamp” on it, the committee says.After the Northern Railways’ Varanasi division issued a notice to remove a mosque near the Kashi railway station by June 20, the ‘Anjuman Intizamia Masajid Varanasi’, the committee managing the religious structure, has sparked a controversy calling the move “illegal”.The committee has claimed that the mosque is not only registered with the Varanasi Municipal Corporation, the notice does not even have any “date, signature or stamp” on it.The railway officials, however, maintained that the mosque, located near the gate 1 of the railway station, is built on railway land. The notice, which reads as “By order, Railways Administration, Northern Railways, Varanasi”, says the railways administration will demolish the mosque if it is not removed by June 20.It was claimed that there was a litigation entitled Anjuman Intizamia V/S Union of India in a local court regarding the ownership of the mosque. The railways notice says the court of the civil judge (junior division), Varanasi, had dismissed the case on August 28, 2024. The Anjuman Intizamia said the case was dismissed since both sides were not present in the court.On Thursday, office-bearers of the Anjuman Intizamia met the Varanasi District Magistrate (DM) and handed over a memorandum seeking an inquiry into the documents and details placed by them and issue an order that the Railways administration not carry out the demolition.When contacted, Joint Secretary of Anjuman Intizamia, SM Yaseen, said, “The notice pasted outside the mosque on June 13 by railways administration is illegal since it does not have any date, signature and the stamp. We dismiss the claims by the railways in its notice in the memorandum handed over to the DM today.”The memorandum says, 1) the mosque ‘Ganj Shaheedan’ is registered in Varanasi municipal corporation as A 36/4 building; 2) The said mosque has no connection with the railways land as it was mentioned in the counter affidavit in the court case also; 3) The court case was dismissed in the absence of both the sides (petitioner and respondents; 4) This case was not filed for the mosque, but regarding a land in the east side there; 5) The existence of the mosque is clear with the map. The Kashi Railway Station did not exist then.Story continues below this adWhen contacted, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM), Northern Railways, Varanasi, BK Yadav, told The Indian Express, “Encroachments are being removed as part of the development of the Kashi railway station. The notice which was served is in a standard format and is not illegal. However, I will check about the date, signature and the stamp as raised by them. We are part of the government and do not indulge in any illegal activity.”“The court had dismissed the case on merit,” he added.The Anjuman Intizamia office-bearers meeting the DM today, Yadav said, “We will be initiating demolition in coordination with the district administration only. We will look into all legal aspects of the case.”