NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on a petition filed by the Sambhal Jama Masjid Committee challenging the Allahabad High Court’s May 19, 2025 order upholding the trial court’s direction for a survey of the mosque by an Advocate Commissioner.
A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe heard Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi and Advocate Nizam Pasha for the petitioner committee, Advocate Hari Shankar Jain for the Hindu plaintiffs and Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj for the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Hindu plaintiffs filed the suit in 2024 claiming a right to perform religious ceremonies at the Sambhal Jama Masjid and alleging that it stood on the site of a demolished 16th-century Hindu temple.
The trial court on November 19, 2024, ordered a local investigation by an Advocate Commissioner. The High Court upheld the order, holding that the Places of Worship Act did not bar the suit at the initial stage.
Friday’s proceedings involved replies from the plaintiffs and the State, followed by a rejoinder from the committee. The committee’s main arguments had been advanced earlier.
ASG Nataraj told the Supreme Court that the Uttar Pradesh government would stay away from the merits of the case as the main matter remains pending trial.
"I don't want to get into the merits because the main matter is not pending before the court," he observed, adding that the State must secure interests of both sides in matters of religious rights.
Confining his submissions to the Places of Worship Act, he said Section 2 defines conversion to include alteration or changes, while Section 3 bars conversion of a place of worship.