SC to hear on Friday plea challenging Sambhal mosque survey order

New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday a petition challenging the November 19 order of a district court, which directed that a survey be undertaken of a Mughal-era mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal.

According to the cause list of November 29 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna is scheduled to hear the plea filed by the Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal.

The plea has sought an ex-parte stay on the operation of the November 19 order passed by the civil judge.

"The hot haste in which the survey was allowed and conducted all within a day and suddenly another survey was conducted with a notice of barely six hours has given rise to widespread communal tensions and threatens the secular and democratic fabric of the nation," it said.

Tension has been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid was carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.

Violence erupted on November 24 as protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and scores of others were injured in the violence. PTI ABA ABA SZM SZM