Allahabad HC upholds trial court order to survey Sambhal's Shahi Jama Masjid
Rejecting the petition filed by the mosque committee against the survey order, the court said that it found no issues with the trial court order
The Allahabad high court on Monday upheld the survey order of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal issued by the trial court.
Rejecting the revision petition filed by the mosque committee against the survey order, the court said that it found no issues with the trial court order. The committee was seeking a stay on the ongoing trial court proceedings in an original suit pending before the district court in Sambhal.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had previously reserved its order on the matter after hearing counsel for the Masjid committee and plaintiff Hari Shanker Jain suit and the counsel for the Archeological Survey of India.
The Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, had moved the high court challenging the suit and the Sambhal court order, which directed the survey through an advocate commissioner.
Jain and seven others had filed the suit before a civil judge, senior division, Sambhal, contending that the Shahi Idgah Mosque was built after demolishing a temple at Sambhal.
The claim by the plaintiff
The original petition by the plaintiffs claims that the mosque was built by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526 after demolishing the Harihar Mandir in Sambhal. The high court had previously stayed further proceedings before the trial court.
The original plaintiffs in the suit claimed the right of access to the religious site at Mohalla Kot Purvi in Sambhal district.
The mosque committee alleged the suit was filed at noon on November 19, 2024, and within hours, the judge appointed an advocate commissioner and directed him to carry out an initial survey at the mosque, which was done on the same day and again on November 24, 2024.
The court had also directed that a report of the survey be filed before it by November 29.
