The Supreme Court of India adjourned the hearing on Tuesday regarding the pleas filed by the committee managing Sambhal’s Jama Masjid. The committee seeks to challenge the Allahabad High Court’s order concerning a survey mandated in the ongoing dispute between Shahi Jama Masjid and the Harihar temple.
A bench consisting of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe decided to defer the matter until August 18, citing a letter that circulated among the parties involved, seeking the adjournment.
Two separate pleas came before the bench challenging a May 19, 2025 order from the Allahabad High Court. The court had earlier been informed that the High Court lacked authority to proceed with matters concerning the survey directed by a Sambhal court, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s directive from December 2024.
In an essential ruling delivered on December 12, 2024, the Supreme Court prohibited all courts across the country from accepting new lawsuits or issuing any interim or final orders concerning the reclamation of religious sites, particularly mosques and dargahs. This decision addressed various pleas challenging sections of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which safeguards the current religious status of places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947.
The provisions of this law, however, explicitly exempt the long-disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case from its scope. The Allahabad High Court dismissed the mosque committee’s plea that contested the survey ordered by the Sambhal civil court, asserting the legitimacy of the request for the survey.
The High Court’s decision bolstered the civil court’s ruling, allowing for the appointment of a court commissioner to oversee the survey process. The committee appealed against the November 19, 2024 order from the civil judge, which allowed the mosque’s survey to proceed.
Moreover, the committee argued that a second survey conducted on November 24, 2024, was baseless, as no directive had been issued by the civil court for its execution.
On August 22, 2024, the Supreme Court initially agreed to take up the mosque committee’s plea against the High Court’s order, instructing all parties to maintain status quo until further notice. This directive emphasized the necessity of preserving order in the area amid the legal proceedings.
The dispute originated from a suit filed in the Sambhal senior division civil court, claiming the mosque was constructed following the demolition of the Harihar temple. Allegedly, Mughal emperor Babur built the mosque in 1526 at the site of the temple’s destruction.
Furthermore, on November 29, 2024, the Supreme Court instructed the Sambhal court to cease all proceedings regarding the mosque and its survey, mandating the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure peace and harmony within the locality. This ongoing saga signifies a complex intersection of legal, historical, and communal factors that continue to captivate public interest and concern.
