Supreme Court Orders Status Quo In Sambhal Mosque Row Till August 25, Issues Notice

A bench of justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar passed the order on a petition filed by the Sambhal mosque committee, challenging the May 19 order of the Allahabad high court which upheld the survey of the mosque as ordered by the trial court.

The court said that the status quo will stay in force till August 25 when the matter will be taken up again to consider whether the suit proceedings could continue before the trial court. The mosque committee had claimed that the survey of the mosque cannot proceed citing Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

According to the 1991 Act, the “religious character” of places of worship as on August 15, 1947 must be maintained and bars the institution of fresh suits or legal proceedings.