Court sets Dec 10 deadline for Badaun mosque case arguments

Lawyer for Shamsi Shahi Jama Masjid Intezamia Committee and Waqf Board questions locus standi of ABHM to file petition in the matter; Hindu side requests court for quick disposal of case

LUCKNOW A local court in Badaun has asked the Muslim side to complete its arguments over a plea filed by a Hindu outfit, seeking permission to worship at the Jama Masjid Shamsi in the district, by December 10.

Security arrangements at the District and Sessions Court ahead of the hearing of a two-year-old petition, which claims the Jama Masjid Shamsi was built after demolishing a temple, in Badaun, Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Arguing his case, the lawyer for Shamsi Shahi Jama Masjid Intezamia Committee and Waqf Board Asrar Ahmed questioned the locus standi of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha to file the petition in the matter.

Urging the court to dismiss the plea, the counsel submitted that the mosque is about 850 years old. He stated that there is “no existence of a temple” there and worship by Hindus had never been conducted in the mosque in the past.

He argued that the Hindu outfit does not have the legal right to become a plaintiff in the matter. Ahmed also said that filing such a petition in the court violates the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

“The case is fake. It has been done to disturb peace. The Hindu side has no rights over this mosque,” he said.

After hearing arguments from both sides, special judge, senior division (fast track court, Badaun), Amit Kumar, fixed December 10 as the next date and asked the Muslim side to complete its argument on the next date.

The matter started in 2022 when Mukesh Patel, then convenor of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, claimed that the Neelkanth Mahadev temple existed at the mosque site.

The case has come into the limelight after the violence in the neighbouring Sambhal district during a protest against a court-ordered survey of a mosque which the petitioners claimed was built after destroying an old temple.

.