The Supreme Court is set to hear a petition filed by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee, challenging a trial court’s order for a survey of the mosque in Uttar Pradesh. The petition follows claims that the mosque was built after demolishing a pre-existing temple.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar will hear the matter. The Masjid Committee, managing the Shahi Jama Masjid at Chandausi (Sambhal), approached the Supreme Court directly, citing extraordinary circumstances, including violent incidents triggered by the survey on November 24, which resulted in the deaths of four individuals.
The Committee argued that the Civil Judge Junior Division issued the order hastily, without notifying the mosque management. They also contended that the suit is barred by the Places of Worship Act of 1991 and noted that the mosque, a 16th-century structure, is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The Committee pointed out that the repeated ordering of surveys on mosques with belated claims could inflame communal tensions and create law and order issues. They sought directions to prevent courts from routinely passing survey orders without proper hearings.
On November 19, a civil court in Sambhal had directed an advocate commissioner to conduct a survey of the mosque following a plea by Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and seven others. The petitioners claimed the mosque was built over a demolished temple during the Mughal era.
Civil Judge (Senior Division) Aditya Singh appointed Ramesh Raghav as the advocate commissioner to conduct the survey and submit a report by November 29. The order led to violent protests, including stone-pelting and vehicle-torching, resulting in four deaths. Violence erupted on November 24 when a team of surveyors arrived for a second survey of the mosque.
However, an autopsy report confirmed that the deaths were not caused by police firing. In response to the violence, a plea has been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the communal unrest in Sambhal district following the court-ordered survey.