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Synopsis

On Wednesday, the District Court in Lucknow dismissed a revision plea filed by Imam Mutawalli of  Lucknow's Teele Wali Masjid. The revision plea challenged a September 2023 order issued by a Civil Judge in the ongoing matter.

The Civil Judge (Junior Division) Court had dismissed the Muslim side's application filed under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC questioning the maintainability of the suit titled Nripendra Pandey and Others v. UOI filed by the Hindu side in 2023. The Muslim side had claimed that the Hindu side's suit was based on imagination, in support of which no records had been filed and artificial cause of action had been shown. They alleged that in their petition against the maintainability of the suit, the order of the Civil Judge was passed without implication of mind and in a routine manner.

However, Additional District Judge Narendra Kumar-III observed that there was no illegality in the order of the Civil Judge. He opined, 

"From a perusal of all the pleadings and all the forms available on the file, it is clear that the case in question is different from the normal cases of permanent injunction and mandatory injunction. The facts described are based on mixed questions of law and fact. Therefore, in a cursory manner, in the application under Order-7 Rule-11 CPC, instead of disposing of the case, it would be fair to allow both the parties to be heard and to dispose of the application along with evidence, etc. Thus, there is no legal error in the impugned order dated 06.09.2023 of the learned lower court. Therefore, there is no justified basis for interference in it".

The suit in question was initiated in 2023 by eight devotees and worshipers of 'Lord Sheshnagesht Teeleshwar Mahadev Virajman' and 'Laxman Teëla Sheshnag Tirath Bhoomi Asthan', aimed for a mandatory injunction against defendants, including the State of UP, ASI, and Mosque management.

The injunction sought to prevent interference in the performance of Puja, Archna, Aarti, and the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa at Sheshavatar Mandir, Sheshnag Patal Koop, and Sheshnagesht Teeleshwar Mahadev Mandir within Laxman Teela (Teele Wali Mosque premises).

The suit alleged that Teele Wali Mosque was built during the reign of Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb by demolishing a pre-existing Hindu temple or religious structure at Laxman Teela. Furthermore, it claimed that such an act aligns with a purported Islamic practice of destroying temples or Hindu places of worship upon conquest to erect a mosque in the same location.

Case Title: Maulana Kari Sayyed Shah Fazlul Mannan v. Nripendra Pandey and Others