The Allahabad High Court.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Lucknow: The Allahabad high court on Wednesday stayed further proceedings with regard to the dispute over the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal in the district court while seeking a response from the concerned parties within four weeks.
A single bench comprising Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal passed the stay order on further proceedings on a petition filed by the Masjid Committee which challenged the order of the district court to conduct a survey in the mosque.
The court fixed February 25 for further hearing of the matter.
The order of the court came within days of submission of the survey report in the district court by a court commissioner. The commissioner had conducted a survey in the masjid in November at Sambhal, which had witnessed large scale violence in which four persons were killed and scores others injured. According to the sources, the survey report contained video footage and photographs taken during the survey inside the mosque in two phases on November 19 and 24 respectively.
The lawyer for the Mosque Committee sought quashing of the district order saying that the survey order was issued by the civil court on the day the petition seeking the same was filed by the Hindu petitioners.
The Hindu plaintiffs had approached the district court seeking ownership of the mosque claiming that it had been constructed after demolishing the Harihar temple by the Muslim rulers. The court had directed for a survey of the mosque by a court commissioner.
The Hindu plaintiffs claimed that Harihar temple was one of the most important religious places for the Hindus as the "tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, termed as 'Kalki Avatar' would take place here."
They also claimed that one of the commanders of Mughal emperor Babar had demolished the temple and converted it into a mosque. The Muslim side rejected the claim saying that there was no evidence to support the contention that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a temple.