Budaun's temple-mosque case: UP court reserves decision till July 17 on maintainability of suit

Budaun (UP), Jul 5 (PTI) A court here has reserved its decision until July 17 on whether a lower court has the jurisdiction to hear the Neelkanth Mahadev temple and Shamsi Jama Masjid case.

Civil Judge (Senior Division) Suman Tiwari reviewed the case file and heard the arguments presented by Anwar Alam, advocate for the Shamsi Jama Masjid Intezamia Committee.

The dispute began in 2022 when Mukesh Patel, the then convener of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, claimed that the Neelkanth Mahadev temple existed at the Jama Masjid Shamsi mosque site and sought permission to worship at the structure.

The mosque is built on an elevated area called Sotha Mohalla and is considered the highest structure in the town of Budaun.

Alam contended that Supreme Court orders say that lower courts do not have the authority to hear such cases, citing the 1991 Act, and therefore, the suit should be dismissed.

He emphasized that the Supreme Court's orders already prohibit any such orders from being passed by lower courts, implying a lack of power to even conduct hearings.

"After hearing the arguments from the Shamsi Jama Masjid Committee, judge Suman Tiwari reserved her decision, setting July 17 as the date to pronounce the order. On this date, it will be clarified whether the case is maintainable in the lower court or not," Alam told PTI.

Vivek Kumar, advocate for the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple side, said the mosque committee's advocate argued that district-level lower courts have no right to hear such cases according to Supreme Court directives.

However, Kumar also noted that the Supreme Court orders do not explicitly mention that previously ongoing cases cannot be heard. PTI COR CDN ZMN