Protected monument? Delhi HC grants extra time for ASI survey of Jama Masjid

The case, filed by Santosh Kumar Mishra in opposition to the Peace Committee of Jama Masjid (Atala Masjid) in Sipah locality, asserts that the positioning was initially a temple devoted to Atala Devi, established within the thirteenth century by King Vijay Chandra.

The petition claims that in Firoz Shah Tughlaq’s invasion of Jaunpur, elements of the temple had been demolished however on account of sturdy opposition from Hindu devotees, the construction remained partially intact.

The temple’s columns had been repurposed to provide it the form of a mosque, which turned the present-day Atala Masjid the place Islamic prayers at the moment are held, whereas entry of Hindu worshippers was subsequently restricted, it mentioned.

The petition additional claims that in 1408, Sharqi ruler Ibrahim Shah accomplished the method of changing the temple right into a full-fledged mosque.

The plaintiff cites historic references, together with historian Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari, to argue that the construction initially belonged to Hindus.

The petition additionally factors to current parts of Hindu structure, sculptures and conventional symbols nonetheless seen on the positioning’s pillars and constructions. The plaintiff asserts that Sanatan Dharma followers have the appropriate to carry out worship and spiritual ceremonies on the web site.

A number of litigations filed in varied courts associated to temple-mosque disputes have come into the limelight together with on Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura, Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Ajmer Dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti and Budaun’s Jama Masjid Shamsi, the place petitioners have claimed that these had been constructed after destroying historic temples and sought permission to supply Hindu prayers there.

Violence throughout protests in opposition to a court-ordered survey in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal claimed 4 lives on 24 November.