Sambhal Masjid: Supreme Court Asks Trial Court To Defer Proceedings Till Survey Order Is Challenged In HC, Keep Commissioner Report Sealed

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 29) asked the Sambhal Trial Court not to proceed in the suit against the Shahi Jama Masjid at Chandausi, till the petition filed by the Masjid Committee against the survey order is listed in the Allahabad High Court.

The Court also directed that the report of the Advocate Commissioner, who conducted the survey of the mosque, should be kept in a sealed cover and should not be opened in the meantime.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing the petition filed by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee challenging the trial court's order passed on November 19 directing an Advocate Commissioner to survey the mosque in a suit which claimed that the mosque was built after destroying a temple.

The CJI expressed concerns over the need to maintain peace amongst the communities in the Sambhal District and told Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj appearing for Uttar Pradesh Administration that: "Peace and harmony have to be maintained. We don't want anything to happen...we have to be absolutely, totally neutral and ensure nothing wrong is done."

The Court has not disposed of the Special Leave Petition filed by the mosque committee and chose to keep it pending. The petition filed by the Mosque Committee before the High Court should be listed within three working days, the Court ordered.

Arguments

As soon as the matter was taken, the bench told Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, the counsel for the mosque committee, that they have to approach the High Court to challenge the order passed by the trial court instead of directly approaching the Supreme Court.

"We may have some reservations on the order, but is it not amenable to Article 227? You have to approach the appropriate forum," CJI orally said.

CJI said that the Court would keep the petition pending. "Let this be pending. We want peace and harmony. You approach the HC. Till then let the trial court not take any action," CJI said.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, for the respondents(plaintiffs in the suit), informed the Court that the trial court proceedings are next posted on January 8, 2025.

Ahmadi submitted that the order passed by the trial court was capable of causing "great mischief". "10 suits are pending across the length and breadth of the country...the modus operandi is on the first day only, the surveyor is appointed. Please stay..." Ahmadi submitted.

"No further steps in the suit without the permission of the High Court. Trial Court will not take any steps till 8th January," CJI orally said.

The order dictated by the bench read as follows :

"We feel that the petitioner must challenge the order dated 19.11.2024 in an appropriate forum. In the meantime, peace and harmony must be maintained. The ASG assures the same. We also observe that in case any revision petition/miscellaneous petition is preferred, the same would be listed within a period of three working days. We are told the matter is fixed before the trial court on 8 January 2025. We hope and trust the trial court will not proceed with the matter till the matter is listed before the High Court. We clarify we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the matter. We are not disposing of the present SLP. Re-list in the week commencing 6th of January, 2025"

After the order was dictated, Ahmadi requested that the filing of the Advocate Commissioner's report be stopped.

CJI said that the filing of the report cannot be stopped. However, he added in the order, "The report submitted by the Advocate Commissioner will be kept in a sealed cover and will not be opened."

Background

Last week, a Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Sambhal passed an ex-parte order for a survey of the mosque by an advocate commissioner. The plaintiffs claimed that the Shahi Jama Masjid at Chandausi was built by Mughal emperor Babar in 1526 after demolishing a temple that stood there. The survey triggered violence on November 24 which left four persons killed.

In the petition, the Masjid Committee submitted that the "hot haste" in which the commission survey proceeded gave rise to apprehensions in the minds of the residents of the area, making them come out of their homes.

It is argued that the suit is barred by the Places of Worship Act and the trial court erred in passing the order ex-parte without hearing the mosque side. The petitioner submitted that the mosque is an ancient monument protected by the ASI.

The petitioner said that it was constrained to approach the Supreme Court directly due to the extra ordinary circumstances.

Rampant ordering of surveys where belated claims on Mosques are made is emerging as a pattern, said the Masjid Committee.

It sought directions that no such orders should be routinely passed without hearing the defendants.

Routinely passing such orders will have the tendency to inflame communal passions, create law and order problems and damage the secular fabric of the country, the petitioner said.

Case : Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal v. Hari Shankar Jain and others | SLP(C) No.28500/2024

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