Survey petitioned mosques

• A civil judge in Sambhal ordered a survey of the town’s Jama Masjid on November 19, leading to numerous petitions calling for surveys of mosques and dargahs.

• The Ajmer Dargah, Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Teelewali Masjid in Lucknow, Shamsi Jama Masjid in Badaun, Atala Masjid in Jaunpur, Gyanvapi Masjid, and Eidgah in Mathura are among the places facing calls for surveys.

• Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s oral observation that Sections 3 and 4 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 do not prohibit the “ascertainment of religious character” of any place of worship has repercussions at the lower judiciary.

• The Supreme Court has directed the mosque’s committee to approach the Allahabad High Court to hear the case.

• Ajmer’s West Civil Court admitted a petition claiming that the Ajmer dargah was originally a Sankat Mochan Mandir, leading to uproar and calls for curtailment of what they call an “ideological assault on India’s civilisational heritage”.

• The Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, a 12th-century mosque, is an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected site.

• The Shamsi Jama Masjid, built by Qutubddin Aibak around the time he built the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid in the Qutub Minar complex in Delhi, is the latest mosque to face contestation.

• The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of such petitions and bar the lower level judiciary from entertaining them in the future.