Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports on religious shrines encroaching on public space, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday directed the authorities to remove all such structures.

A division bench of Justice B.J. Sethna and Justice R.P. Dholakia has asked civic authorities across the state to take immediate action and submit report.

The court also took note of the violence that broke out in Vadodara on Monday over the demolition of a dargah, in particular the mob attack on the Nyaymandir courthouse. It has asked the Vadodara police commissioner to submit a report.

The court has directed the state government to issue immediate instructions to the police department to provide full protection to demolition squads so as to avoid what happened in Vadodara.

If the need arises, those likely to disrupt peace should be booked before carrying out demolition drives, the court said. Those obstructing such drives are usually land-grabbers.

Listing some illegal religious structures in and around Ahmedabad, the court said encroachment on public space should not be permitted or tolerated ‘‘even for a minute.’’

Only a ‘‘handful of anti-social elements’’ with money and muscle power put up religious structures overnight and then start minting money while putting the public to great inconvenience, it said.

MHA: Vadodara killings could’ve been avoided

NEW DELHI: Minister of State of Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, after a daylong tour to Vadodara and close scrutiny of the chain of events that resulted in clashes between the police and members of a community, was convinced that the killings could have been prevented if the authorities had shown a bit of “sensitivity”.

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