In Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, a court in Chandausi has fixed September 25 to have a hearing on the long-running claim of the Shahi Jama Masjid-Harihar temple. This hearing will happen in the presence of a civil judge (senior division), Aditya Singh. This was first heard in the past, but a Supreme Court stay had postponed it to the new date, as Shahi Jama Masjid advocate Shakeel Ahmed Warsi said. The Hindu side, one of the advocates, Shri Gopal Sharma, affirmed the update to news agencies.
There have been various developments in the legal battle in the past few months. The Muslim party had appealed against the maintainability in the Allahabad High Court. But on May 19, the High Court affirmed the order of the trial court to proceed with a survey under court supervision and to move forward. The case is based on Hindu petitioners alleging the mosque was built over an already existing temple, but this was first presented in a lawsuit filed on November 19 last year by advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, in the Sambhal district court.
After the filing, a survey was ordered by the court the same day and a second survey was ordered on November 24. The second survey, however, caused a lot of riots in Sambhal. There were 4 killed and 29 injured police officers as a result of clashes. The police then filed charges on SP MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and the head of the mosque Committee, Zafar Ali and an FIR against 2,750 unidentified persons who participated in the violence.
The next hearing is likely to be followed by high attention, as the case is rather sensitive and can influence the communal harmony in the area. Both communities are being urged by authorities and local leaders to exercise peace following the progress of a judicial process.
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