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Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Sambhal land records ‘missing, forged, tampered with'
Several revenue records of land in the urban pockets of Sambhal, which has remained at the centre of a controversy following court-ordered surveys of the Shahi Jama Masjid there, were found to be either missing or tampered with and forged, confirmed senior administrative officials on Tuesday. They said an FIR had been lodged after a lekhpal found the discrepancies at the land record room in Moradabad. They suspected these manipulations might have been done so that the actual landowners could not be confirmed. The Sambhal district was carved out of the Moradabad district on July 23, 2012, after a formal announcement was made to this effect on September 28, 2011. The district was formed largely from the Sambhal region of Moradabad and some areas of the Badaun district. The old land records were preserved at the Moradabad land record room. A senior administrative official said the incident came to light when the Sambhal district administration needed some documents, for which the archive records at the land record room in Moradabad had to be searched. He said records pertaining to Sambhal Khas, Sultanpur Bujurg, Tashtpur, Sarai Tareen, Mandalai, Dalavali, etc., had been destroyed. These villages come in Sambhal's urban area, he added. He said Sambhal Khas lekhpal Gyanesh Kumar lodged the FIR in Moradabad under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 324 (4) (mischief and causing loss or damage to property), 336 (3) (forging records) and 303 (2) (stealing records). He said other lekhpals, including Rahul Kumar Dhariwal, Sparsh Gupta, Champat Singh, Sandeep Kumar and Mukesh Kumar found out that the records pertaining to their jurisdictions had been forged or tampered with. Regional inspection officer (RIO) Shiv Dayal Singh alleged some of the records were intentionally torn, partially damaged, made unreadable, forged and stolen. He added the disappearance of land records would make it difficult to prove land ownership, leading to legal battles and disputes. He said investigations were ongoing and legal actions would be taken against the culprit/s.
India.com
19-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Sambhal mosque row: Allahabad HC junks Masjid committee plea against survey
Prayagraj/Sambhal: The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a plea of the Masjid committee against the survey ordered by a Sambhal court in the Shahi Jama Masjid and Harihar Temple dispute. The court said the order to appoint a court commissioner and the suit were maintainable. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had previously reserved its order on the matter after hearing counsel for the Masjid committee and plaintiff Hari Shanker Jain aside from the counsel for the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, moved the high court challenging the suit and the Sambhal court order which directed the survey through an advocate commissioner. Jain and seven others filed the suit before a civil judge senior division, Sambhal contending the Shahi Idgah Mosque was built after demolishing a temple at Sambhal. The mosque, it claimed, was built by Mughal emperor Babur in 1526 after demolishing the Harihar Mandir in Sambhal. The high court had previously stayed further proceedings before the trial court. While talking to PTI, Shri Gopal Sharma the lawyer of the Hindu side in the Shahi Jama Masjid said, 'The high court has rejected it as per the rules. We welcome the decision of the high court. The survey ordered by the civil judge senior division of Sambhal was within the law and was appropriate.' On the other hand, the lawyer of the Muslim side, Shakeel Ahmed Warsi, told PTI that the Allahabad High Court's order was according to the judicial process. The original plaintiffs in the suit claimed the right of access to the religious site at Mohalla Kot Purvi in Sambhal district. The committee alleged the suit was filed at noon on November 19, 2024 and within hours, the judge appointed an advocate commissioner and directed him to carry out an initial survey at the mosque, which was done on the same day and again on November 24, 2024. The court had also directed that a report of the survey be filed before it by November 29. On January 10, the top court directed the Sambhal district magistrate to maintain status quo on reviving or allowing prayers at a 'private' well located near the entrance of the mosque. Considering a plea of the committee the top court issued notices to the Centre, the director general of the ASI, Sambhal district magistrate and other private Hindu side litigants led by Jain. On November 24, last year protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with the security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson, leaving four dead and several injured. The top court, on November 29 last year, ordered the Sambhal court to halt proceedings in the case over the mosque and its survey at Chandausi while directing the UP government to maintain peace and harmony in the violence-hit town. The mosque committee moved the Supreme Court on November 28, challenging the November 19 order of the district court directing the survey of the Mughal-era mosque and sought an ex-parte stay on the operation of the November 19, last year order passed by the civil judge.
Scroll.in
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Allahabad High Court rejects petition against survey of Sambhal mosque
The Allahabad High Court on Monday rejected a petition filed by the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee against a trial court order from November that directed the appointment of an advocate commissioner to survey the premises of the mosque in Sambhal, Live Law reported. The structure has been at the centre of a controversy since November 26, when violence broke out in Sambhal after Muslim groups objected to the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Five persons were killed in the clashes. The trial court had ordered the survey on November 19 on a suit filed by Hindu activists claiming that the mosque had been built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babur on the site of a 'centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki'. The proceedings in the case were deferred in effect since November 29, when the Supreme Court directed the trial court to wait until the mosque committee's petition was listed before the Allahabad High Court. On December 12, the Supreme Court barred trial courts from passing orders, including survey directions, in pending lawsuits concerning the religious character of places of worship. It also said that no new suits can be registered in any court across the country until further orders while it hears a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 1991 Places of Worship Special Provisions Act. The Act does not allow any changes to the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. These directions also extend to the case in Sambhal and thus the advocate commissioner's survey report of the disputed mosque has been submitted to the local court and is kept in a sealed cover. In in the interim, the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee of the mosque filed a petition in the High Court against the conduct of any survey at the mosque, Bar and Bench reported. The Archaeological Survey of India had also filed its responses in the case. It said that the mosque had been designated as a 'Centrally Protected Monument' by the government and could not be characterised as a 'place of public worship' because there were no supporting records for such a claim. The provisions of the 1958 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act became applicable to such sites after Independence, the ASI said, adding that official records did not identify the mosque as a religious place, Bar and Bench reported. Under the Act, the ASI and the Union government had the authority to declare and preserve protected monuments, rendering any unauthorised ownership claims, such as those by the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee, legally irrelevant, the government agency added.
Indian Express
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Goodbye, Justice Khanna
A good judge builds a life for generations yet unborn. Integrity is his cardinal virtue. Alexander Pope wrote in 'An Essay on Man': 'Act well your part, there all the honour lies'. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, like his father Justice D R Khanna of the Delhi High Court and his uncle Justice H R Khanna, has been honest, upright and bold in the discharge of his duties. Chief Justice Khanna faced attacks, both personal and on the judiciary, from persons holding constitutional positions. He stood steadfast and — in the words of Lord Denning — was 'coolness under fire'. The way he responded to those attacking him and the Court reminds one of the wisdom of the Old Testament: 'Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.' This is not to say that he did not have his failings. The Places of Worship Act, 1991, came up before his immediate predecessor. Despite the Act prohibiting the alteration of the status of religious places that existed at the time of Indian Independence, he permitted the survey of such places to determine their character. The same issue came before the bench presided over by Justice Khanna in the Shahi Jama Masjid dispute at Sambhal. Though the bench rightly passed an order directing that the status quo be maintained, and succeeded in restoring law and order in the district — a number of deaths had occured in the wake of the dispute — it missed the opportunity to do away with the real source of mischief, which lay in his predecessor's order. Had the observation by the earlier bench been done away with, it would have closed doors for all times to any further mischief by fundamentalists. Then came the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The Muslim community regards it as direct interference in its religious affairs in contravention of Articles 25 to 28 of the Constitution of India. A number of petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act. The matter was taken up by the bench presided over by Justice Khanna. Given the observations made by him about the importance of the issue and its implications, it was expected that the matter would be given precedence. However, on May 5, when the matter was supposed to be heard, Justice Khanna refused to take it up on the grounds that he was on the verge of retirement. Unfortunately, again, he failed to pass an order staying the provisions of the Act. During his tenure, a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court made a statement from a public platform that was allegedly laden with objectionable and inflammatory communal remarks. The speech came as a shock to the nation and appropriate action was expected against him. Chief Justice Khanna called the judge, and reportedly asked him to publicly apologise. The latter refused. The fire in the house of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court and the alleged discovery of burning currency notes put Justice Khanna to the test, too. His prompt action in appointing a committee of three judges and reporting the incident were welcome steps. Justice Khanna's prompt action on the report by calling upon the judge to resign and on his refusal to do so, sending the report to the President of India and the government, shows his commitment to honesty and integrity in the institution he has presided over. The nation thanks Justice Khanna for his direction to his colleagues to disclose their assets in the public domain. A step towards transparency is always welcome. Goodbye, Justice Khanna. You have done well for the nation and honoured the memory of your respected father and uncle. The writer is a former judge of the Delhi High Court
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Supreme Court asks Sambhal mosque management to respond to Uttar Pradesh report on disputed well
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) directed the management of the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal to respond to a status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh government that a disputed well stood 'completely outside' the mosque precincts, contrary to what the Muslim side said in the apex court. Appearing before a Bench of the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, for the State, said the mosque management had made a 'totally wrong statement' that the well was inside the mosque premises. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque management, said they had made a 'totally right statement'. Part of the well was inside the mosque. He said the well was covered on the top with cement. The mosque pumped water from the well, a structure which held historical significance. The water was used by the mosque from time immemorial, Mr. Ahmadi said. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side, had argued the well was outside the mosque's purview and its water had been historically used for worship by his side. The court suggested both parties resolve the issue with talks. 'You (the mosque management) are using the well; let others also use the well,' Chief Justice Khanna remarked at one point. In November 2024, the apex court had to intervene to instruct the Uttar Pradesh police and the Sambhal district administration to be 'totally, absolutely neutral' and maintain peace after violence broke out following a civil court-ordered survey to verify claims by Hindu plaintiffs that the mosque was built over a destroyed temple in the 16th century. The top court had then stayed the civil proceedings in the local court and directed the mosque survey report prepared by the Advocate Commissioner to be kept in a sealed cover.
