Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the trial court in Uttar Pradesh to refrain from proceeding in the suit concerning Sambhal’s Jama Masjid until the mosque committee’s petition challenging the survey order is heard by the High Court.A two-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, also instructed the Uttar Pradesh administration to ensure peace and harmony in the region.”The advocate commissioner’s report must remain in a sealed cover and not be opened in the meantime. Peace and harmony must be maintained at any cost,” the bench ordered. It further clarified that no further actions should be taken by the trial court on its survey order.The directive comes in response to a plea filed by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee (SSJMC) seeking a stay on the November 19 order of the Sambhal Civil Judge (Senior Division), which mandated a survey of the mosque following claims it was built on a demolished temple during the Mughal era.The mosque committee argued that the order was issued hastily without allowing the defendants sufficient time to respond or seek legal remedies. The plea also highlighted that the survey and subsequent actions had triggered communal violence, resulting in the deaths of six Muslim youths and escalating tensions in the area.The Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition on Friday after the mosque committee sought an urgent hearing. The petitioner urged the court to halt the surveys, asserting that such actions risk undermining the nation’s secular and democratic fabric.
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