The Shahi Jama Masjid Committee Sambhal has moved the Allahabad High Court, challenging the trial court order passed on November 19 directing an advocate commissioner to survey the mosque in a suit which claimed that the mosque was built after destroying Harihar temple.
The masjid committee had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the survey order of the civil judge (senior division of Chandausi district. Sambhal is part of Chandausi district.
The Supreme Court, on November 28, while hearing a plea challenging a court order that allowed the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, had directed the petitioners to approach the High Court for resolution of the matter. A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing a plea seeking an ex parte ad interim stay on the operation of the trial court’s November 19 order.
The Shahi Jama Masjid Committee has filed the petition in Allahabad High Court while the advocate commissioner appointed by the Chandausi civil judge has submitted the survey report to the trial court in a sealed cover last week. However, as per the Supreme Court’s directive, no effective orders, interim or final, can be passed based on the survey report. The High Court is expected to hear the masjid committee’s plea later this week.
It may be noted that the masjid committee has moved the High Court after the Supreme Court directed the Sambhal trial court not to proceed with the suit against the masjid until the committee’s petition against the survey order is listed in the High Court.
The impugned order was passed by Civil Judge (Senior Division) Aditya Singh on a suit filed by eight plaintiffs, including Mahant Rishiraj Giri, who claimed that the mosque in question was built in 1526 after demolishing a temple that stood there. The survey triggered violence on November 24, which left four persons dead.
According to the Hindu plaintiffs, the mosque in question was originally the site of an ancient Harihar temple, dedicated to Kalki, the last avatar of Lord Vishnu in 1526, and on the orders of Mughal ruler Babar, the temple was demolished and a mosque was constructed over it.
In their suit, the plaintiffs, represented by advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, have claimed the right to access the mosque.
Even as the Shahi Jama Masjid Committee has challenged the survey order of the civil court, its own locus standi, as the rightful owner to represent the cause of the masjid, is under question. The Archaeological Survey of India, on November 29, had moved an application before the civil court in Sambhal, seeking control and management of the Mughal era Shahi mosque as it is a protected heritage structure. The same court had appointed a court commissioner to carry out a survey of the mosque.
The ASI, in its application, also highlighted an incident of January 19, 2018, when a FIR was lodged against the mosque’s management committee for installing steel railings on the mosque’s steps without proper authorisation. The mosque, notified as an ASI protected monument in 1920, is under the purview of the agency and as such, public access to the structure should be permitted, provided it adheres to ASI regulations.
The ASI argued that control and management of the monument, including any structural modifications, must remain with it. It also raised concerns that unauthorised changes to the mosque’s structure by the management committee are unlawful and should be restricted.
Shahi Jama Masjid Committee chief Zafar Ali admitted that the mosque has been an ASI protected monument since 1920. Regarding the ASI statement filed in court, Ali said that the railing was installed in the mosque years ago.
Ali admitted that the mosque being a protected monument, the committee requires prior approval from ASI to do any alteration or construction work.
