Board installed with 'Juma Masjid' name incorrect: Lawyer of Shahi Jama Masjid in UP's Sambhal

Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh: Shakil Ahmad Warsi, the legal counsel for the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, expressed strong objection on Wednesday to the installation of a board by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) identifying the mosque as "Juma Masjid", calling it incorrect and unnecessary.

Talking to reporters, Warsi said, "The mosque has long been known as the Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal. This new board, referring to it as Juma Masjid, is wrong and completely uncalled for. There was no need to send a new board, the one that was already installed should have remained in place." Warsi said the mosque's management committee will consult legal experts before formally raising objections to it.

"We will hold discussions with the local management committee of the Shahi Jama Masjid as well as with lawyers from the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court. After consulting with them, we will officially file an objection," he said.

Sambhal has been simmering since communal violence on November 24 last year, when clashes broke out between locals and security personnel during a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque in the Kot Garvi area of the city. The court had ordered the survey while hearing a petition that claimed that the mosque stood at the site of a demolished Hindu temple.