A local court in Sambhal on Thursday adjourned the hearing in the Shahi Jama Masjid case to December 3, following a stay on the proceedings by the Supreme Court.
The case concerns competing claims over the Shahi Jama Masjid premises. The Hindu side, represented by advocates Harishankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, had filed a petition in the district court on November 19 last year, asserting that the mosque stood on the site of the historic Harihar Temple. Acting on this plea, the court had ordered a survey of the mosque on November 19 and again on November 24, 2024.
The November 24 survey triggered violent clashes in Sambhal, leading to the deaths of four people and injuries to 29 police personnel. Police subsequently lodged an FIR naming Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, mosque committee president Zafar Ali, and 2,750 unidentified persons in connection with the violence.
Earlier this year, the Muslim side had challenged the survey order before the Allahabad High Court, which on May 19 upheld the trial court’s decision and directed it to proceed with the hearing. However, with the matter now pending before the Supreme Court, the civil judge (senior division), Aditya Singh, deferred the proceedings and fixed the next hearing for December 3.
Advocate Shakeel Ahmad Warsi, appearing for the mosque management, confirmed that the case has been listed in the Supreme Court for November 7. “Since the appeal is pending before the apex court, the trial court has fixed the next hearing for December 3,” he said.
Advocate Gopal Sharma, representing the Hindu side, also acknowledged that the deferment followed the Supreme Court’s interim stay on the ongoing proceedings.
