Sambhal: A court in Chandausi on Tuesday, September 29, postponed the hearing in the Shahi Jama Masjid-Harihar temple dispute to October 16 in the wake of a Supreme Court stay on proceedings.
The matter was listed for hearing before Civil Judge (Senior Division) Aditya Singh.
The Supreme Court had in November 2024 imposed an interim stay on the survey of the 16th-century Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal and halted all proceedings regarding the dispute in the trial court.
Counsel for the Hindu side, Shrigopal Sharma, said the matter was listed for hearing on Tuesday, but no proceedings took place as the case remains stayed following the Supreme Court order.
The legal dispute emerged on November 19, 2024, when Hindu petitioners, including advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a suit in the Sambhal district court claiming the mosque was built over a temple.
The Muslim side challenged the maintainability of the case in the Allahabad High Court, but on May 19, 2025, the high court upheld the trial court’s order permitting a court-monitored survey and directed it to proceed with the matter.
A court-ordered survey was conducted at the site on November 19, 2024.
The second survey on November 24 led to significant unrest in Sambhal, resulting in the death of four persons and injuries to 29 police personnel.
The police had booked Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and mosque committee head Zafar Ali in connection with the violence, besides registering an FIR against 2,750 unidentified persons.
