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Malali mosque row: Mangaluru court reserves judgement till Nov 9
The court is hearing a petition filed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to inspect the Assayed Abdullahi Madani mosque in Malali area in Thenka Ulipady village near Mangaluru.
The third additional civil court in Mangaluru has reserved the order in connection with the Malali mosque row till November 9, persons in the know of the developments said on Monday. The court, after reserving the order, directed that a status quo has to be maintained on the mosque premises.
The Mangaluru court was to deliver the judgement on the limits of authority of the court with regard to the maintainability of the suit for a permanent injunction.
The court is hearing a petition filed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to inspect the Assayed Abdullahi Madani mosque in Malali area in Thenka Ulipady village near Mangaluru.
On May 30, a plea in this regard was filed by right-wing activists TA Dhananjaya and BA Manoj Kumar, who had sought an inspection of the mosque to ascertain “if the parts uncovered during the mosque renovation belonged to a temple”.
The court was hearing arguments on whether such a suit was maintainable. The petitioners had approached the high court demanding that the lower court should appoint a commissioner to conduct the survey.
The Karnataka high court on June 16 this year directed the civil court not to pronounce its verdict on the maintainability of the suit. Earlier, the single-judge bench of justice Sachin Shankar Magadum had issued notice to mosque authorities and adjourned the hearing to June 17. The case came to fore after the VHP claimed that a temple-like design was discovered during the renovation work of the dargah on April 21 in this year.
On May 31, a counsel for the mosque had made a submission before the Mangaluru court to quash the VHP petition under the provisions of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.
Talking about the controversy, a senior official from the district administration said that some earthmovers were deployed at the dargah as part of the renovation process. “During the process, a temple-like structure was allegedly noticed by a few people. Some JCB workers also took photos of the structure and later shared them widely,” said the official who did not want to be named.
According to the police, photographs of what appears to be a ‘kalasha’ (spire), ‘tomara’ (pillar) and poles resembling a temple were circulated on social media platforms soon after the front portion of the dargah was demolished for renovation work, undertaken by the mosque authority.
Earlier on Wednesday, the VHP performed ‘Tambula Prashne’ rituals, claiming it will prove “if a temple existed at the spot”. The outfit also roped in Kerala-based astrologer GP Gopalakrishna Panicker to conduct the rituals, police said.
‘Tambula Prashne’ is a ritual wherein a person approaches an astrologer with a query while offering a small gift, consisting of betel leaves and coins. The ritual is popular among the local Hindu populace.
