Sambhal Mosque Dispute: SC Extends Status Quo for Two Weeks, Seeks Registry Report

The Bench of Bench of Justice PS Naramsimha and Justice Alok Aradhe noted that two separate appeals had been filed by the Committee of Management Jami Masjid Sambhal through its secretary and vice president.

The Court directed its registry to conduct an enquiry into the matter and submit a report.

Appearing for the Hindu plaintiffs, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain opposed the extension of the status quo.

Senior Advocate Huzeifa Ahmadi, representing the mosque management, sought the continuation of the order until the registry’s report was placed before the Court.

The case arises from an appeal filed by the Masjid committee challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order upholding a civil court’s direction for a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid and Harihar Temple premises. The High Court had ruled that both the suit and the appointment of a court commissioner for the survey were maintainable.

The mosque committee had earlier moved the High Court against the November 19, 2023 order of the Sambhal civil judge directing a survey of the Mughal-era mosque, which was carried out the same day. A second survey followed on November 24.

The matter will now be heard after the registry’s report is filed.

Notably, on August 22, the Court had asked whether the matter ought to be tagged with pending petitions concerning the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The Bench had extended the status quo order stating that it would examine the previous order to avoid passing inconsistent directions.

Earlier, in January, the Court had issued notice on the plea and ordered status quo with regard to a well located near the entrance of the mosque. The Court had ordered status quo with regard to a well located near the entrance of the mosque.

In the main petition filed by the Masjid Committee, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna led bench had asked the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee to approach the Allahabad High Court with its petition against the ASI survey ordered by a civil court.

The Masjid Committee moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on a civil court’s November 19 order directing a survey, to be conducted by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), of the 16th-century mosque in Uttar Pradesh. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar is scheduled to hear the plea on November 29, 2024.

They have sought a stay on the civil court's order, arguing that the survey was conducted in “hot haste.” According to the petition, the survey was ordered and completed within a day, followed by another survey with barely six hours’ notice. “The manner in which survey was ordered in this case and has been ordered in some other cases will have an immediate impact in a number of cases across the country that have been filed recently concerning places of worship where such orders will have a tendency to inflame communal passions, cause law and order problems and damage the secular fabric of the country,” the petition alleged.

Case Title: Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal vs. Hari Shankar Jain and others

Hearing Date: September 1, 2025

Bench: Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe