Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Monday gave the green signal for the continuation of the survey at Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, rejecting a petition filed by the mosque management committee.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, who presided over the single-judge bench, ruled that both the original suit and the order appointing a court commissioner were legally maintainable.
The case stems from a civil revision petition filed by the Jama Masjid Management Committee, which had challenged a November 19, 2024, order of the Sambhal Civil Court. The lower court had directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and an Advocate Commissioner to conduct a survey of the mosque premises.
A preliminary survey began on the same day the order was issued and continued on November 24. However, tensions flared during the second round of the survey, resulting in violent clashes that claimed four lives. Despite the unrest, the civil court instructed that the survey report be submitted by November 29.
In protest, the mosque committee moved the Allahabad High Court, which held a hearing on January 8. On that day, the court issued an interim stay on the survey and paused proceedings in the original case.
The original suit had been filed by Hari Shanker Jain and seven others, alleging that the mosque stood on the ruins of the historic Harihar Mandir. The plaintiffs claimed that the Mughal emperor Babur had demolished the temple in 1526 to construct the mosque.
With Monday’s verdict, the High Court has effectively lifted the interim stay and allowed the court-appointed survey to proceed, reigniting a sensitive legal and historical debate in the region.