NASHIK: The Bombay high court (HC) stayed the demolition of 45 temples till February 7 while hearing the petition of Shiv Sena coordinator Dilip Datir and party leader Bhagwat Arote and others who challenged Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) action against illegal religious structures Datir who had filed the petition in December 2016 pleaded that religious structures on open spaces and gardens should be spared. "The court had asked NMC to produce documents to prove that the open spaces belonged to them. We argued that the open spaces were private lands where the religious structures were constructed. NMC was asked to prove their claim with documents but it sought time," said Datir.The hearing will be held on February 7 when NMC has been asked to furnish the documents. NMC razed 85 such structures in the first phase after which Sena and others challenged the decision in the HC.

Source: Times of India January 17, 2017 16:18 UTC