Sambhal,

05 Aug (HS): The continuing Shahi Jama Masjid-Harihar temple dispute was

postponed until August 21 by a civil court in Chandausi on Tuesday due to a

strike by local bar association members. The case has been scheduled for a

hearing by civil judge Aditya Singh (senior division). The Muslim side

contested the case's maintainability in the Allahabad High Court, but on May

19, the High Court affirmed the subordinate court's ruling allowing a

court-monitored survey and urged the trial court to proceed with the hearing.

Advocate

Shri Gopal Sharma, standing for one side, stated that due to today's bar

association strike, the court has set August 21 as the next hearing date. Advocate

Shakil Ahmad Warsi, who represents the opposing party, stated that owing to the

rains, the bar association was on strike, thus the issue was rescheduled for

another day.

On

May 19, the high court's prior stay was vacated, and documents relevant to that

ruling were filed in trial court. 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.

A

court-ordered inspection was done on the same day (November 19), with another

on November 24. The second inspection, conducted on November 24, sparked

considerable rioting in Sambhal, killing four people and injuring 29 police officers.

The police booked SP MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and mosque committee head Zafar Ali

in connection with the incident, and they also filed a FIR against 2,750

unidentified people.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi