Allahabad HC rejects Masjid committee's plea; survey to continue at Sambhal mosque

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a plea of the Masjid committee against the survey ordered by a Sambhal court in the Shahi Jama Masjid and Harihar Temple dispute.

The court said that the order to appoint a court commissioner and the suit were maintainable, PTI reported.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had previously reserved its order on the matter after hearing counsel for the Masjid committee and plaintiff Hari Shanker Jain’s suit and the counsel for Archaeological Survey of India.

According to a PTI report, the Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, moved the High Court challenging the suit and the Sambhal court order, which directed the survey through an advocate commissioner.

Jain and seven others filed the suit before a civil judge senior division, Sambhal contending that the Shahi Idgah Mosque was built after demolishing a temple at Sambhal. The petitioners claimed that the mosque was built by Mughal emperor Babur in 1526 after demolishing the Harihar Mandir.

The High Court had previously stayed further proceedings before the trial court.

The original plaintiffs in the suit claimed the right of access to the religious site at Mohalla Kot Purvi in Sambhal district.

The Masjid committee alleged that the suit was filed at noon on November 19 last year and within hours, the judge appointed an advocate commissioner and directed him to carry out an initial survey at the mosque, which was done on the same day and again on November 24, 2024.

The court had also directed that a report of the survey be filed before it by November 29.