August 23, 2025

The Supreme Court brought a pause to the tense Sambhal mosque dispute on Friday. The top judges ordered everyone to keep the current situation unchanged until August 25. This means no more surveys or changes will happen for now. Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar gave this important order while hearing a big appeal from the mosque committee. Here’s the juicy background: The mosque committee is fighting against an order from the Allahabad High Court. That high court ruling said it’s okay to have a survey done by a Sambhal court on the Shahi Jama Masjid, a centuries-old mosque, which lies close to the Harihar Temple. This survey was meant to settle who owns what. The legal drama started last year when a civil judge on November 19 ordered a survey of the Mughal-era mosque. The mosque committee protested, saying the second survey done on November 24 was not legal because the court never asked for it! The Allahabad High Court backed the civil court’s decision and said that appointing a court commissioner to inspect the site was valid. It also said the whole legal suit was proper and should go on. Now the Supreme Court is stepping in. It has asked the Hindu petitioners to respond by issuing them official notices. Meanwhile, it asked everyone to keep things calm and not change any facts on the ground until they hear this case again after August 25. This order has put a pause button on what could have turned into a big communal flashpoint! As this historic tussle continues, all eyes are on the courts to find a peaceful and fair solution to this sensitive dispute involving the Shahi Jama Masjid and Harihar Temple.

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Tags: Supreme court, Sambhal mosque dispute, Allahabad high court, Shahi jama masjid, Harihar temple, Court survey,