The Supreme Court on Friday directed a trial court in Sambhal not to proceed with a lawsuit related to the Shahi Jama Masjid at Chandausi, till the petition filed by the Masjid Committee against the survey order was listed in the Allahabad High Court.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar further directed that the report of the Advocate Commissioner, who conducted the survey of the Mosque, should be kept in a sealed cover and should not be opened in the meantime.
It also ordered the Allahabad High Court to list the petition within the next three working days.
The Apex Court passed the directions on a petition filed by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee challenging the Sambhal court’s order of November 19, directing an Advocate Commissioner to survey the Mosque over claims that it was built after destroying a temple.
The top court of the country, while stating that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the matter, re-listed the Special Leave Petition filed by the Mosque Committee, for hearing in the week starting on January 6, 2025.
The Bench also directed Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the Uttar Pradesh administration, to maintain peace and harmony among all communities in the Sambhal district. The ASG was further ordered to ensure that the situation remained absolutely neutral and that nothing wrong was done.
At the outset of the hearing, the Apex Court told Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, to challenge the order in an appropriate forum. Instead of directly approaching the Supreme Court, move the High Court for relief under Article 227, said the Bench.
Appearing for the respondents (plaintiffs in the suit), Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain apprised the Apex Court that the trial court had listed the matter for further hearing on January 8.
The Bench then ordered the Sambhal court not to take any further steps on the suit till January 8.
Ahmadi contended that 10 suits were pending across the length and breadth of the country. The modus operandi was that on the first day only, the surveyor was appointed, he added. Ahmadi sought a stay on the Sambhal court order on the grounds that the trial court order had the potential to cause ‘great mischief’.
After the order was dictated, Ahmadi requested that the filing of the Advocate Commissioner’s report be stopped.
Noting that the filing of the report could not be stopped, the Bench directed that the report submitted by the Advocate Commissioner be kept in a sealed cover and not be opened.