Sambhal Jama Masjid Plea: CJI Sanjiv Khanna will be in charge of hearing the plea on November 29

The main gate of the Jama Masjid mosque in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. | Photo credit: RV Moorthy

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is scheduled to hear a petition by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid committee on November 29 against a civil court order allowing an inquiry into the mosque to check whether They were built on the ruins of a temple.

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The local court had issued the order on November 19, sparking violence and communal tension across Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh. Four people were reportedly killed in the violence.

The committee argued that the local court order was issued for a questioning of legal representatives ex parte and hastily in a pending case.

The plaintiffs alleged that the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi was built by the Mughal emperor Babar in 1526 after demolishing a temple.

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The committee said the speed and routine manner in which the survey was ordered and conducted had raised fears among local people.

The petition invoked the Places of Worship Act, which protects the identity of religious sites of all faiths. It has been claimed that the mosque is an ancient monument and a protected site. It said the exceptional situation in this case forced the committee to appeal directly to the Supreme Court.