Court proceedings in Sambhal mosque case stayed by Allahabad HC till Feb 25

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday postponed further proceedings before a trial court in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal over the Shahi Jama Masjid until February 25, according to Live Law.

A single-judge bench led by Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal issued the ruling in response to a plea filed by the mosque's managing committee on November 19 against a trial court order mandating a survey of the disputed site.

The trial court's decision came in response to a petition filed by Hindu activists who claimed that the mosque was built in 1526 by Mughal king Babar on the site of the "centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki", Scroll.in reported.

Five people were killed in violence during November protests against the mosque survey. On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court also ordered the Union government, Archaeological Survey of India, Uttar Pradesh government, District Magistrate, and plaintiffs in the petition to respond within two weeks, according to Live Law.

The hearings in the case have been suspended since November 29, when the Supreme Court told the trial court not to proceed until the mosque committee's petition was heard by the Allahabad High Court. On December 12, the Supreme Court prohibited trial courts from issuing orders, including survey directions, in pending petitions over the religious character of places of worship.

It also stated that no new suits could be filed in any court in the country until further orders are issued while it hears a number of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 1991 Places of Worship Special Provisions Act. The Act prohibits any alterations to the religious character of a place of worship as it stood on August 15, 1947.

These directives also apply to the Sambhal issue, and as a result, the advocate commissioner's survey report on the contested mosque has been submitted to the local court in a sealed cover, according to The Wire.