Sambhal Mosque Dispute: Supreme Court Halts Trial Proceedings

Sambhal Mosque Dispute has been talk of the town since last one week. Let’s have look on it.
The Supreme Court ordered a trial court in Uttar Pradesh, which had permitted a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, which dates back to the Mughal era and which Hindus assert was constructed by demolishing a Hindu temple, to temporarily halt proceedings in the case on Friday, emphasizing that “peace and harmony must prevail.”

It stated that any subsequent proceedings before the trial court will follow the High Court’s instructions and asked the mosque management committee to petition the Allahabad High Court against the lower court’s order.

An ex-parte ad-interim stay on the implementation of the November 19 trial court ruling was sought by the mosque management committee in a Special Leave Petition filed with the bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar.

Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, speaking on behalf of the mosque management committee, asked the bench to halt the trial court order, but the judge turned down his plea. “No. We are stating that the suit cannot proceed without the High Court’s approval. That’s all. The CJI said, “Move the High Court.”

We have been informed that the trial court will hear the case on January 8, 2025. Until the matter is listed before the High Court and any future procedures are conducted in accordance with the order issued, we hope and believe that the trial court will not move on with the matter,” the bench stated. The court further ordered that any reports submitted by the advocate commissioner designated by the trial court to carry out the survey must be kept in a sealed cover and not unsealed.
To know more, click on the below link also!

“Within three working days of its filing, any revision, appeal, or miscellaneous petition that is preferred before the proper forum will be listed,” the bench stated. It stated that “peace and harmony must be maintained in the interim” and noted Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K M Nataraj’s commitment to this goal.

“At this point, we don’t want to speak. However, harmony and peace must triumph—this shouldn’t occur. In oral remarks, the CJI stated, “You must be completely neutral and make sure that nothing goes wrong.”

“We’re handling it…”We do not want any unfortunate incident to occur because of all these things,” the ASG, who represented the district administration, retorted.

Without initially contesting the ruling before the HC, the bench informed Ahmadi that “we may have some reservations on the order but that is no ground to entertain” the appeal straight.

Since we desire peace and harmony, it would be preferable if we left this Article 136 (plea) waiting. We do not wish to be disturbed. You file for whatever remedy you can in the interim. “Let the trial court refrain from taking any further action until then,” the bench stated.

The court stated it was not delving into the merits of the case when Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who was representing one of the Hindu petitioners, attempted to step in. “Normally, we won’t let them come here by leapfrog. In the interim, we don’t want anything to happen. That’s all. They are entitled to contest,” the CJI stated. “As of right now, I am aware of ten pending suits throughout the entire country,” Ahmadi stated.

He was instructed by the court to “raise that argument in the matter which is already pending,” nevertheless.

“This is all I’m saying”. The method used in many of these cases is that a surveyor is appointed on the first day itself,” Ahmadi argued, adding that a narrative is then written. “This order has the potential to cause significant public commotion,” he stated. CJI Khanna stated, “Therefore, we have kept it pending.”

Additionally, in accordance with Section 43 of the Mediation Act of 2023, the court verbally requested that the ASG investigate community mediation. It emphasized, “We don’t want anything to happen.”

After considering a plea arguing that the mosque was constructed after a temple was demolished, the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Sambhal issued an ex-parte order on November 19 permitting an attorney commissioner to conduct a survey of the mosque.

On November 24, violence erupted after a survey crew arrived at the mosque, leading to the shooting and killing of four individuals just meters from the mosque. But according to the police, they did not fire the rounds.

The mosque committee said in its appeal that although the mosque has been used continuously by Muslims as a place of worship since the 16th century, the case was handled in “hot haste” after eight plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging that the mosque was constructed after demolishing the “Shri Hari Har Temple.”