Lucknow: The All India Muslim Jamaat (AIMJ) on Tuesday announced that it will challenge the Allahabad High Court’s decision allowing a survey of Sambhal’s Jama Masjid in the Supreme Court.
Reacting to the development, Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, president of the Jamaat, said the community is disappointed by the verdict but remains firm in its belief. “Sambhal’s Jama Masjid was a mosque yesterday, is a mosque today, and will remain a mosque tomorrow,” he said in a video statement.
He added that there is no need for either celebration or sorrow over the court’s decision. “This is part of a judicial process. Sometimes the decision goes in your favour, sometimes against. We will challenge this verdict in the Supreme Court after taking legal advice,” Maulana Razvi said.
The Allahabad High Court, on May 19, dismissed a civil revision petition filed by the Masjid Committee of Sambhal that had sought to stay a lower court order permitting a survey of the mosque premises. The order was passed by Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal.
The court’s decision has drawn criticism from Samajwadi Party MLA from Sambhal, Iqbal Mahmood, who questioned the manner in which the petition was admitted and acted upon by the lower court. “The application was accepted and the commission for the survey was ordered on the same day. This was done in undue haste and under pressure,” Mahmood alleged.
He also cited the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which bars the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, with the exception of the Babri Masjid case. “This decision is not acceptable. We will approach the Supreme Court,” he said.