SC Halts Opening of Well Near Sambhal Mosque

The Supreme Court on Friday restrained the Uttar Pradesh government and Sambhal district administration from acting on a municipal notice to open for public use a well, half of which is located within the structure of the Shahi Jama Masjid and the other half outside it. The court emphasized the need to ensure communal harmony in the area, which has witnessed tensions over a claim that a Hindu temple once stood at the mosque's site.

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, ordered that the December 2024 notice issued by the Sambhal Nagar Palika Parishad, which mentioned cleaning the well, investigating the property and opening the portion outside the mosque, shall not be acted upon.

The bench observed that it is "keeping a close watch" to ensure there is no violence in the area and that peace and harmony are maintained. It set February 21 as the date for the next hearing and directed the district administration to file a status report within two weeks.

The top court's ruling is in keeping with the December order of a bench headed by CJI Khanna that restrained all courts across India from entertaining fresh suits or passing orders to survey mosques to determine whether temple structures lie beneath them.

This interim order was meant to act as a sweeping pause on the growing litigation initiated by Hindu groups seeking to reclaim places of worship, effectively stalled proceedings in trial and high courts, and marked a significant intervention by the judiciary in a matter fraught with religious sensitivities and legal complexities.

In the current instance, the court is seized of a plea by the mosque's managing committee challenging a trial court order directing a survey of the mosque, raising questions over its legality and the manner in which it was ordered.

The survey triggered widespread tensions in Sambhal, culminating in violent clashes on November 24, 2024, that left four people dead and several injured, including police personnel.