LONDON: Peterborough city council argued at the high court here on Monday that its decision to sell a complex housing a Hindu temple to a Muslim association to redevelop it as a mosque and Islamic centre was “not unlawful”.Catherine Rowlands, representing the council, said the fact the Hindu community would lose the only temple they had in a 35-mile radius did not make the decision to sell the New England Complex to the UK Islamic Mission (UKIM) — who plan to build Masjid Khadijah there — illegal, nor was it a breach of public sector equality duty.“Protected characteristics (eg Hindu faith) need to be taken into consideration when reaching a decision, but do not dictate a decision,” Rowlands said, pointing out the Hindus were protected by tenancy rights until the site was redeveloped, at which point they would be evicted.
“It is the council’s position that the Hindu community is valued and we want them to stay,” she said. This drew loud laughter from Hindus in the public gallery, some wearing “Jai Shree Ram” orange T-shirts. A coach of Hindus had come from Peterborough and filled an overflowing courtroom.“Peterborough is a big place — there are plenty of other premises,” Rowlands said as Hindus in the public gallery shook their heads. “The council has made offers of alternative premises.”Justice Morris questioned why the council had done this if UKIM had set a fundraising target of 2035. “It could happen next week,” Rowlands said. “They may win the lottery.”The council decided to sell the site to UKIM on Feb 10 even though Bharat Hindu Samaj (BHS) is a sitting tenant that has leased Unit 6 since 1986 and had been negotiating to buy the building for a decade. BHS is seeking a judicial review of the decision and calling for the court to quash it.UKIM bid £1.4 million (about Rs 18 crore) for the site and presented proof of £5.4 million (Rs 69.2 crore) cash. Bharat Hindu Samaj bid £900,000 (Rs 11.5 crore) plus £504,000 (Rs 6.4 crore) in “social value” for its community services.“Peterborough council is hard up. We need the money,” Rowlands said.