Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: The Allahabad High Court on Monday upheld the trial court’s directive for a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh, rejecting a plea from the mosque management committee to halt proceedings.
The High Court found “no issues with the trial court order” in the ongoing legal dispute between the Shahi Jama Masjid and the Harihar Mandir, clearing the way for further trial proceedings.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side, welcomed the judgment and said the High Court had rejected all objections to the appointment of the Survey Commissioner by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Chandausi.
“This is a very important decision of the Allahabad High Court and all those who had spread the misconception in the country that the Survey Commissioner appointed by Civil Judge Senior Division Chandausi on 19th November was a wrong appointment and he should have heard the Masjid Committee before making the appointment, today that proposition of law has been completely rejected by the court,” Jain told ANI.
Elaborating on the legal framework, Jain said:
“The simple proposition of law is that the court can appoint a Survey Commissioner in the exercise of the power of Order 26, Rule 9 and 10. There is no need to hear anyone at that time. The mandate of law is only that when the Survey Commissioner goes to the spot for survey, he will conduct the survey in the presence of both the parties. Which was followed here on both the days i.e. 19th and 24th November.”
Jain also criticized some senior advocates and parliamentarians who questioned the survey process, adding:
“So the big barristers and parliamentarians who had made comments on the dignity of the court and the dignity of the parties on the dignity of this entire process, today a well-reasoned judgment has put a full stop to it.”
On the applicability of broader legislation, Jain stated:
“We will come to the Supreme Court for a stay vacation of the survey report, which has been filed in a sealed cover. At the same time, the High Court has vacated the stay on the trial. This means that the trial will proceed further. The Worship Act is not applicable in this because it is the admitted case of both the parties that this is an ASI protected monument of 1958 and is governed by the ASI Act 1958… Therefore, neither the Place of Worship Act nor the Supreme Court order of December 12 is applicable here.”
Advocate Hari Shankar Jain also welcomed the judgment, saying:
“The court rejected the Muslim side’s plea and said that the survey was correct. Whatever survey was done, it will be read out and made part of the record. If they (Muslim side) go to the Supreme Court, we are ready to welcome them.”
The mosque management committee had filed a civil revision petition seeking a stay on the original suit pending before the Sambhal district court. The case centers around a claim that the mosque was constructed in 1526 over a demolished Harihar Mandir, allegedly dedicated to Lord Kalki, the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
In April 2024, the Supreme Court gave the mosque committee two weeks to respond to a status report by Uttar Pradesh authorities, which stated the disputed well lies outside the mosque premises.
The original survey order was issued by the trial court on November 19, 2024, sparking protests and clashes that resulted in four deaths. The Supreme Court had stayed trial court proceedings shortly after, directing that the matter be heard first by the High Court.