The Supreme Court will hear a petition on Friday challenging a trial court’s directive for a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. The petition questions both the legality of the order and the process by which it was issued. The survey was ordered after a lawsuit claimed that a temple once stood at the location.
The mosque’s management committee has filed a petition requesting an immediate suspension of the survey. They argue that carrying out surveys on historic religious sites could inflame communal tensions and harm the country’s secular integrity.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar will consider the petition, which has opted to bypass the Allahabad High Court. The petition seeks direct intervention from the Supreme Court to avert additional communal tensions and to maintain proper judicial conduct in managing sensitive cases involving historic religious sites.
The surveys, ordered by a local civil court, have sparked significant unrest in Sambhal, leading to violent clashes on November 24 that resulted in four deaths and several injuries, including among police officers. In response, the police have arrested 25 people, including political leaders, and filed multiple FIRs against over 2,000 unidentified individuals.
