The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to August 18 the hearing on petitions challenging the judicial order directing a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, in proceedings arising from a dispute over the religious character and historical status of the site.
The matter concerns the challenge mounted by the Committee of Management of the Jama Masjid against the Allahabad High Court’s decision upholding the trial court’s order appointing an Advocate Commissioner to undertake the survey of the mosque.
The dispute traces its origin to a civil suit instituted before the Sambhal court by Hindu plaintiffs, who have claimed that the site presently occupied by the mosque was originally associated with a Hindu temple. The mosque management has contested the proceedings and questioned the maintainability of the suit, including in light of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
The mosque committee’s challenge before the Supreme Court also raises questions concerning the legality of directing a survey at the interlocutory stage and the manner in which the trial court proceeded with the matter. The committee has contended that the survey order was passed without affording it an adequate opportunity of hearing.
The proceedings have remained under close judicial scrutiny since November 2024, when the Supreme Court directed that the trial court should not proceed further with the dispute and asked the mosque management to approach the Allahabad High Court. The top court had also directed that the survey report be preserved in a sealed cover and not be acted upon during the intervening period.
The Allahabad High Court subsequently considered the challenge to the survey proceedings and upheld the trial court’s decision. The mosque committee thereafter approached the Supreme Court seeking interference with the High Court’s order.
During the Supreme Court proceedings in July, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque committee, argued that the High Court could not have sustained the survey order in view of the Supreme Court’s December 12, 2024 directions restraining courts from passing effective interim orders in disputes concerning places of worship. He also submitted that the suit instituted by the Hindu plaintiffs was barred by the 1991 Act.
The litigation has also witnessed procedural complications, with the Supreme Court earlier taking note of multiple Special Leave Petitions being filed against the same Allahabad High Court judgment through different advocates-on-record representing rival factions of the mosque management. The Court had directed the factions to resolve their internal differences and clarify their authorisation to pursue the proceedings.
The Supreme Court’s intervention had also resulted in the proceedings before the Sambhal trial court remaining in abeyance. A local court subsequently deferred the hearing in the underlying dispute in view of the apex court’s orders and fixed a subsequent date subject to further directions.
The controversy surrounding the survey had acquired a law-and-order dimension in November 2024 after violence erupted in Sambhal during the survey exercise, resulting in deaths and injuries and prompting heightened security measures.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision to adjourn the matter to August 18 leaves the challenge to the survey order pending. The proceedings are likely to involve examination of the maintainability of the underlying suit, the statutory bar under the Places of Worship Act, the propriety of the survey direction and the effect of the Supreme Court’s earlier orders concerning disputes over religious places.
The adjournment does not amount to any adjudication on the competing claims concerning the historical or religious character of the disputed site. The legal issues remain pending consideration before the Supreme Court.
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