ASI Seeks Control, Management of Sambhal Mosque, Tells Court It Faced Resistance While Conducting Survey

New Delhi: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has told the court that while conducting the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, it faced resistance from the management committee and locals.

It has said that the control and management of the monument along with any structural modifications should remain with it, reported the Press Trust of India.

“The mosque, notified as an ASI-protected monument in 1920, is under the purview of the agency and as such, public access to the structure should be permitted, provided it adheres to ASI regulations,” ASI’s counsel Vishnu Sharma told the court.

Sharma said the ASI also highlighted an incident from January 19, 2018, wherein an FIR was filed against the mosque's management committee over installing steel railings on the mosque's steps without proper authorisation.

He told the court that “unauthorised changes” to the mosque’s structure by the management committee is unlawful and should be restricted.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had ordered a judicial probe into the violence that broke out in Sambhal during a controversial survey of the Mughal-era mosque last Sunday (November 24).

The decision to constitute a judicial commission came a few hours before the Supreme Court was to hear a petition by the caretakers of the Shahi Jama Masjid against a Sambhal court’s decision to order a survey in the mosque through an advocate commissioner to look for signs of an ancient Hindu temple.

Five Muslims were killed in the violence although the government has only acknowledged the deaths of four persons. Several police personnel were also injured and some vehicles torched or damaged.

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