Sambhal mosque row: Allahabad HC junks Masjid committee plea against survey
Prayagraj/Sambhal (UP) (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a plea of the Masjid committee against the survey ordered by a Sambhal court in the Shahi Jama Masjid and Harihar Temple dispute.
The court said the order to appoint a court commissioner and the suit were maintainable.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had previously reserved its order on the matter after hearing counsel for the Masjid committee and plaintiff Hari Shanker Jain aside from the counsel for the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
The Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, moved the high court challenging the suit and the Sambhal court order which directed the survey through an advocate commissioner.
Jain and seven others filed the suit before a civil judge senior division, Sambhal contending the Shahi Idgah Mosque was built after demolishing a temple at Sambhal.
The mosque, it claimed, was built by Mughal emperor Babur in 1526 after demolishing the Harihar Mandir in Sambhal.
The high court had previously stayed further proceedings before the trial court.
While talking to PTI, Shri Gopal Sharma the lawyer of the Hindu side in the Shahi Jama Masjid said, "The high court has rejected it as per the rules. We welcome the decision of the high court. The survey ordered by the civil judge senior division of Sambhal was within the law and was appropriate."
On the other hand, the lawyer of the Muslim side, Shakeel Ahmed Warsi, told PTI that the Allahabad High Court's order was according to the judicial process.
The original plaintiffs in the suit claimed the right of access to the religious site at Mohalla Kot Purvi in Sambhal district.
The committee alleged the suit was filed at noon on November 19, 2024 and within hours, the judge appointed an advocate commissioner and directed him to carry out an initial survey at the mosque, which was done on the same day and again on November 24, 2024.
The court had also directed that a report of the survey be filed before it by November 29.
On January 10, the top court directed the Sambhal district magistrate to maintain status quo on reviving or allowing prayers at a "private" well located near the entrance of the mosque.
Considering a plea of the committee the top court issued notices to the Centre, the director general of the ASI, Sambhal district magistrate and other private Hindu side litigants led by Jain.
On November 24, last year protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with the security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson, leaving four dead and several injured.
The top court, on November 29 last year, ordered the Sambhal court to halt proceedings in the case over the mosque and its survey at Chandausi while directing the UP government to maintain peace and harmony in the violence-hit town.
The mosque committee moved the Supreme Court on November 28, challenging the November 19 order of the district court directing the survey of the Mughal-era mosque and sought an ex-parte stay on the operation of the November 19, last year order passed by the civil judge.
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Cong performed better in Kerala, anti-incumbency trends influenced WB, TN: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress had largely met or exceeded expectations in several States, even as results in some regions reflected shifting voter sentiments.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said the party accepted the mandate in Assam while performing better than anticipated in Kerala.
He also pointed to possible anti-incumbency trends influencing outcomes in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
“In Assam, we got the expected result, and we accept the people’s mandate. In Kerala, we have won more seats than expected. We anticipated around 76 to 80, but we have gone up to around 95,” Siddaramaiah said.
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, there may have been an anti-incumbency trend, and that could have influenced the results, he added.
Siddaramaiah also extended his congratulations to a new political entrant in Tamil Nadu, noting the emergence of a different electoral dynamic in the State.
“I congratulate the new entrant who has achieved success there,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said electoral outcomes in some States had diverged from the party’s internal assessments, reflecting evolving voter expectations.
“We expected a certain trend, but the results have been different. Political reading was wrong in some places,” he said.
“People were looking for change in some States, and that has been reflected in the results,” Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka unit president, said.
Referring to Kerala, he said the Congress-led alliance had benefited from public sentiment.
“There was already an expectation based on local body elections, and people had shown confidence in us. That has translated into a strong result,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
On Tamil Nadu, he acknowledged that the scale of political shift had come as a surprise.
“We expected to secure around 30 to 40 per cent of the vote share, but such a major shift was not anticipated. It shows that voter expectations were different,” he said.
Shivakumar added that electoral outcomes underscored the need for better political assessment in future.
“We have to understand these changes carefully. Political reading cannot go wrong like this,” he said.
