Sambhal mosque row: Allahabad HC upholds survey order of Shahi Jama Masjid, rejects Muslim side's petition

Sambhal mosque row: The Allahabad High Court on Monday, upheld the trial court’s November 2024 order concerning a petition alleging that a temple was dismantled to construct the Mughal-era mosque.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal hearing the case also added that the Hindu plaintiffs is prima facie not barred, reported legal news agency Live Law.

The Sambhal mosque management committee, on November 19, 2024, had filed a civil revision petition seeking a stay on the ongoing trial court proceedings in an original suit pending before the district court in Sambhal.

Widespread violence broke out in Sambhal on November 24, 2024, when a mob assembled to prevent the Advocate Commission team from conducting a survey at the 500-year-old mosque, leading to clashes with the police.

The Sambhal mosque row

Tensions had been simmering in Sambhal since November 19, when a local court ordered a survey of the Jama Masjid. The court directive sparked opposition, and protests against the survey escalated into violent clashes with the police, resulting in the deaths of four people.

The court-ordered survey stemmed from a petition filed by local individuals who claimed that the mosque stood on the original site of a Harihar temple—dedicated to Kalki, the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu—which they allege was demolished in 1526 to construct the mosque.

In November 2024, the Supreme Court intervened, staying the trial court proceedings and instructing it not to hear the matter until the mosque committee’s petition challenging the survey order is listed before the Allahabad High Court.

‘Spread the misconception in the country’

Advocate Vishnu Shankar, representing the Hindu side in the case, said that the Allahabad High Court's decision to uphold the trial court's order to survey the Shahi Jama Masjid is a very important decision.

Vishnu Shankar added that the ruling rejected the “misconception” that the “Survey Commissioner appointment by Civil Judge Senior Division Chandausi on 19th November was a wrong appointment and he should have heard the Masjid Committee before making the appointment,” reported ANI.