Sambhal Religious Dispute: High Court Clears Way, Next Hearing on Aug 5

Sambhal: A civil court in Chandausi on Monday deferred the hearing in the ongoing dispute over the Shahi Jama Masjid-Harihar temple to August 5 due to the strike by the local bar association.

Civil judge (senior division) Aditya Singh was scheduled to hear the matter. 

The Muslim side had previously challenged the maintainability of the case in the Allahabad High Court, but on May 19, the high court upheld the subordinate court’s order permitting a court-monitored survey and directed the trial court to proceed with the hearing.

Advocate Shri Gopal Sharma, appearing for the Hindu side, told PTI, “Due to the condolence meeting and strike by the bar association today, the court has fixed August 5 as the next date of hearing.”

District government counsel Prince Sharma confirmed the state government submitted an affidavit in court today. 

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 “The matter pertains to a dispute over the Shahi Jama Masjid and the claimed Harihar Mandir. The high court’s earlier stay was vacated on May 19, and the documents related to that order were submitted in the trial court.  Due to the strike today, the next date has now been fixed as August 5,” he said.

The dispute dates back to November 19 last year, when Hindu petitioners, including advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a suit in the Sambhal district court claiming that the mosque was built over a pre-existing temple.

A court-ordered survey was conducted on the same day (November 19), followed by another on November 24. The second survey on November 24 led to significant unrest in Sambhal, resulting in the death of four people and injuries to 29 police personnel. 

In connection with the violence, the police registered a named FIR against SP MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and mosque committee head Zafar Ali, along with an FIR against 2,750 unidentified individuals.