On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled against the execution of the Sambhal Nagar Palika’s notice about the well outside the Sambhal mosque.

In response to an application submitted by the Committee of Management, Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal, a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar sent notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, requesting a status report from them within two weeks.

The Mosque Committee has asked the District Magistrate for guidance in order to preserve the status quo about the private well that is located close to the mosque’s entrance and steps.

The judges noted throughout the hearing that using the well from outside the mosque would not do any damage to anybody else.

CJI Khanna, representing the committee, questioned, “There is no harm if someone uses the well from outside, you have covered the well and let them use it, what is the harm?”

Senior counsel Huzefa Ahmadi, speaking on behalf of the mosque committee, alerted the bench about the notice delivered by Nagar Palika, which prompted the top court to make its comment.

The judges then questioned why letting others use the well would be harmful.
Ahmadi said that the well was being utilized for the mosque. “Now what they say is, in the notice it is called ‘Hari Mandir’, now they will start using it for pooja, bathing etc.”
Ahmadi was then informed by the CJI that utilizing well from the outside did not pose any damage.

The top court was informed by the Uttar Pradesh administration that “they want to create an issue” and that the atmosphere was “very peaceful.”

According to the Committee’s proposal, posters showing the mosque as a temple and supposedly the locations of ancient wells have also been placed around Sambhal and close to the mosque.

“District Administration, Sambhal is conducting a purported drive to revive old temples and wells in the city with reports indicating that at least 32 old unused temples have been revived and 19 wells have been identified which are being made operational for public prayers/use,” the application said.

“The District Administration, in its purported drive for the so-called revival of old temples and wells, is giving publicity to the proposed public access being granted to the use of the well, claiming the said wells to have religious significance,” it said.

The mosque committee expressed its concerns and informed the District Administration of their concerns in a legal notification dated December 16, 2024.

According to press sources, the District Magistrate has declared that the well is not within the mosque and that the court’s temporary injunction only addresses matters inside the mosque. Although the petitioner contests this, it is evident that the aforementioned private well is located at the mosque’s entrance and partially inside, and opening it for Hindu prayers would cause trouble and disrupt the currently precarious harmony and peace in the area,” the application continued.

The top court halted the trial court’s proceedings in November 2024, ordering it to refrain from hearing the case until the Allahabad High Court listed the mosque committee’s challenge against the survey order.
On November 19, the municipal court ordered an inspection of the mosque, which stoked tensions in Sambhal. Four individuals were killed in clashes between protesters and police over the court-ordered assessment of the Jama Masjid.

The study was conducted in response to a petition that was filed in the local court by certain individuals who claimed that the mosque was constructed on the site of a Harihar temple that was devoted to Kalki, the last manifestation of Lord Vishnu, and was constructed in 1526 after the temple was demolished.