Sambhal case: The Supreme Court, while hearing a plea challenging a court order that allowed the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on Friday, directed the petitioners to approach the High Court for resolution of the matter.
“We want peace and harmony in Sambhal,” the Chief Justice, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, said, according to Live Law. The apex court also said that any petition related to this matter would be listed within three days of being filed.
The Bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing a plea seeking an ex-parte ad-interim stay on the operation of the trial court's November 19 order.
Sambhal has been plagued by violence over the past few days after a survey team visited the mosque. On the second day of the survey, four people had died of gunshot wounds metres away from the mosque after violence escalated.
The case stems from Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain's petition, claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site of the mosque. Jain had earlier said the Court of Civil Judges (Senior Division) ordered the constitution of an “advocate commission” to survey the mosque. On Sunday, he urged the Archaeological Survey of India to take control of the “temple”.
Several politicians held myriad views regarding the Sambhal mosque case. Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad said the committee aimed to divert public attention.
“So many people are injured, Police fired shots...what was the need of a second survey?...the Police and district administration there are fully responsible for this,” Prasad said, according to ANI.
At the same time, Akhilesh Yadav's wife and Samajwadi Party MP, Dimple Yadav, expressed hope that the investigation would be a fair one. “ This is an important issue. I am hopeful that there will be a fair investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court,” ANI quoted Dimple Yadav as saying.
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