NRP Desk
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on the proceedings in the civil suit filed by Hindu petitioners who have sought a survey of the Sambhal’s Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh claiming that a Hindu temple existed on the site. A bench of justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar passed the order on a petition filed by the Sambhal mosque committee, challenging the May 19 order of the Allahabad high court which upheld the survey of the mosque as ordered by the trial court. The court said that the status quo will stay in force till August 25 when the matter will be taken up again to consider whether the sult proceedings could continue before the trial court. The mosque committee had claimed that the survey of the mosque cannot proceed citing Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act. 1991. According to the Act, the ‘religious character of pla ces of worship as on August 15. 1947 must be maintained and bars the institution of fresh suits or legal proceedings Huzela Ahmadi, counsel for the mosque committee, mentioned that on December 12. 2024, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court passed an interim order restraining courts across the country from entertaining any fresh suits or order
ing surveys to determine existence of temple structure under-neath existing mosques till the validity of the 1901 law is decided in a batch of petitions being heard by the top court.
