New Delhi:
A lower court's order for a probe into the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid of Sambhal, which triggered mass violence that left four people dead and many injured, has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The Masjid Commission has sought an immediate stay of the order and demanded an early hearing from Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna.
The petitioners claim that this is an “extraordinary case” and that the court should therefore take “extraordinary steps.” A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India will hear the case tomorrow.
Responding to a petition alleging that the mosque stands on a temple dedicated to Kalki, the court had ordered a probe on November 19. While the district administration and police conducted the investigation, there was criticism from several quarters, including the Jama Masjid. management committee.
The situation snowballed on November 24 when a second survey by the Archaeological Survey of India was planned. Locals, fearing the mosque's demolition, gathered to protest and the violence that followed left four people dead and many injured.
In their petition, the mosque committee said the civil court had passed unilateral orders and ordered an inquiry to be conducted on the same day with undue haste. There was no call for a response from the parties involved – the commission and the state government – and no legal proceedings were taken.
The manner in which the investigation was ordered in this case and in some others will have an immediate impact on a number of cases across the country recently filed involving places of worship. Such orders will tend to inflame communal passions, create law and order problems and damage the secular fabric of the country, the petition argued.
The Muslim community has strongly opposed the investigation, citing the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The law states that keeping Ayodhya, the status quo of August 15, 1947, must be maintained for religious structures across the country.
But in 2023, the Supreme Court had allowed an inquiry into the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, with the then Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud arguing that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 did not allow the determination of the religious character of a place of worship is not excluded. .
The November 24 violence in Sambhal and a court's subsequent decision to hear a similar claim over the Ajmer Dragah have sparked a huge political row that has resonated both inside and outside parliament. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were suspended soon after their meetings today. In the Lok Sabha, opposition members gathered at the House well and raised slogans demanding action against the perpetrators of the Sambhal violence.
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, who alleged that the violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, was the direct result of this verdict, said: “Thanks to a former Chief Justice of India, a Pandora's box has been opened which sparks. a controversial debate about religious minority places”.
“Despite a Supreme Court ruling that the status quo should be maintained as it existed in 1947, its judgment has paved the way for investigations into these sites, potentially leading to increased tensions between Hindus and Muslims,” the PDP chief added added, citing the Supreme Court's rulings. comments when a bench had decided that a Ram temple could be built in Ayodhya.
Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Ziaur Rehman Barq condemned the move as an attempt to disrupt communal harmony.
Earlier today, the Uttar Pradesh Police held a flag march in Sambhal ahead of Friday prayers.
