SC halts execution of Sambhal civic body notice about well near mosque

The Supreme Court on Friday halted the execution of a notice issued by municipal authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal concerning a well next to the Shahi Jama Masjid, reported Live Law.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing a petition filed by the mosque committee challenging a November 2024 trial court order for a survey of the Mughal-era mosque, following claims that it was built after the demolition of a Hindu temple at the site.

Five persons were killed in violence during protests in November against the survey of the mosque.

Senior Advocate Hufeza Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, said that the Sambhal district administration was carrying out a purported drive to revive old temples and wells in the town, The Indian Express reported.

Ahmadi referred to reports that “at least 32 old unused temples have been revived and 19 wells have been identified which are being made operational for public prayers/use”. One of these wells, he said, was the one adjoining the Shahi Jama Masjid.

Ahmadi claimed that the well was partly inside the mosque premises and was being used for the purposes of the mosque. The Uttar Pradesh government, on the other hand, claimed that the well was on government land.

The chief justice remarked that the court was “keeping…

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