Supreme Court halts Sambhal civic body’s notice on disputed well, seeks report in 2 weeks

This, after the mosque management committee said that the notice, a public poster which bore the name of the Sambhal Nagar Palika, referred to the well as being located in a corner of the Hari Mandir.

Hindus and Muslims have been locked in a dispute over the mosque, with the former claiming that the Mughal-era mosque was built after destroying a temple called Hari Mandir.

The bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, “Issue notice returnable to 21 February 2025. Notice accepted by Respondents. In the meanwhile, a status report will be filed in 2 weeks. In the meanwhile, Respondents will not give effect to the notice (Nagar Palika Notice) in relation to the well.”

The bench was hearing an application filed by the committee in a pending appeal against the November 19, 2024 direction of a local court appointing an advocate commissioner to survey the mosque following Hindu claims over it. The survey had sparked violence in Sambhal in which five persons were killed.

Hearing a clutch of petitions related to the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the Supreme Court, on December 12, 2024, had ordered that in pending suits, including the one in Sambhal, lower courts should not pass effective interim or final orders including orders for surveys.

On Friday, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque committee, said that the Sambhal district administration “is conducting a purported drive to revive old temples and wells in the city with reports indicating that at least 32 old unused temples have been revived and 19 wells have been identified which are being made operational for public prayers/use”. One of these, he said, was the well located near the mosque.

The CJI asked what was the harm in allowing others to draw water from the well and use it. To this, Ahmadi said the well was currently being used for the purposes of the mosque. “We have been drawing water from the well since time immemorial,” he said. “They will dig it,” he said.

Ahmadi then referred to the poster and said, “But see the notice. They are calling it a Hari Mandir and puja etc will be started now.”

“No, you cannot do that … Please do not do that,” the CJI remarked and asked for a status report.

Appearing for the Hindu petitioners, Advocate Vishu Shankar Jain said people were worshipping the well, and that he had photographs. The bench said he could place the photographs on record.

Referring to photographs of the well, Ahmadi said half of its circumference is inside the mosque premises and half outside. CJI Khanna said that Google Earth maps gave the impression that the well was completely outside. “First I did not notice the photograph. When I saw Google Maps, it looked like it was outside. So I put that query.”

The CJI said the court was “keeping a close watch so that peace and harmony is maintained”.

Appearing for the UP government, Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj said the well is located on government land.

Ahmadi said the “state is being partisan”.

Advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, also appearing for the masjid committee, later told The Indian Express that the notice being referred to was a “poster” put up by the Nagar Palika and referred to a Hari Mandir and the well nearby.