Sambhal,

21 July (HS): Due to the local bar association's strike, a civil court in

Chandausi postponed a hearing in the continuing dispute over the Shahi Jama

Masjid-Harihar shrine until August 5. Aditya Singh, a civil judge (senior

division), was slated to hear the complaint.

The

Muslim side had earlier contested the case's maintainability in the Allahabad

High Court, but on May 19, the court affirmed the subordinate court's ruling

allowing a court-monitored survey and ordered the trial court to proceed with

the hearing.

Advocate

Shri Gopal Sharma, representing the Hindu side, stated that due to today's

condolence meeting and bar association strike, the court has scheduled the next

hearing for August 5. District government attorney Prince Sharma said that the

state government filed an affidavit in court today.

The

dispute is about Shahi Jama Masjid and the purported Harihar Mandir. The high

court's previous stay was vacated on May 19, and documents pertaining to that

ruling were filed in trial court. Due to

the strike today, the next date has been set as August 5, he stated.

The

disagreement began on November 19, last year, when Hindu petitioners, including

attorneys Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a lawsuit in Sambhal

district court, saying that the mosque was erected on top of an existing

temple. The court-ordered survey was done on the same day (November 19),

followed by another on November 24. The

second survey, conducted on November 24, sparked considerable rioting in

Sambhal, killing four people and injuring 29 cops.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi