The Supreme Court on Friday (22nd August) ordered a status quo effective till Monday (25th August) in the Sambhal mosque case, during the hearing of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Sambhal Mosque Committee. With the status quo order, any further developments in the case have been stayed till further hearing.
The plea filed by the Sambhal Mosque Committee challenged an order passed by the Allahabad High Court on May 19, 2025, upholding a decision of the civil court, which held that the suit with respect to the Sambhal mosque was not barred by the Places of Worship Act. The civil court also allowed the survey of the court and appointed a commissioner for that.
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and A.S. Chandurkar passed an interim order of status quo and issued notice to the Hindu petitioners in the matter. Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque committee, contended before the Apex Court that the High Court was not right in holding that the suit was not barred by the Places of Worship Act.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the Hindu side, submitted before the court that the issue relating to the said did not arise in the case as the Sambhal mosque, being an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monument, was not subject to the Act. He said that the plaintiffs (Hindu side) were only seeking access to the monument.
In support of his submission, Jain cited an order passed by another bench of the Supreme Court earlier in the day, wherein it was held that an ASI-protected monument is not covered by the Places of Worship Act. The Court asked Jain to produce the said order and ordered the status quo. “We will see that order. We do not want to pass inconsistent orders,” Justice Narasimha said.
Background of the case
The civil suit in relation to the Sambhal mosque was filed by eight Hindu plaintiffs, including Mahant Rishiraj Giri. The plaintiffs claimed that the mosque was built in 1526 after partially demolishing an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Kalki, Lord Vishu’s avatar. The plaintiffs sought the right to access and worship the sacred site.
The civil court allowed the suit, holding that it was not barred by the Places of Worship Act. Besides, it ordered a court-monitored survey of the site on November 19, 2024 and appointed an Advocate Commissioner for that. However, during the second round of the court-monitored survey on November 24, 2024, Islamist mobsters, who had gathered outside the mosque, engaged in violence and created communal disturbance. The Sambhal Mosque Committee moved the Allahabad High Court, claiming that the second survey was illegal as the court did not order it. The High Court upheld the decision of the civil court regarding the maintainability of the suit and the order of the survey.
After the violence by Islamists, the Supreme Court stayed the proceedings in the civil court pending the decision of the High Court on the Committee’s plea. In May 2025, I rejected the committee’s claims and upheld the civil court’s decision.
