The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked a civil court in Uttar Pradesh to not proceed in the suit against the Sambhal Jama Masjid until the mosque committee’s petition challenging the survey order is listed in the high court.
On November 19, a local civil court ordered an advocate commissioner to survey the Mughal-era mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district. The court was acting on a petition filed by Hindu activists claiming the Islamic religious site was originally a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to an avatar of Vishnu.
On November 24, a follow-up survey led to clashes in the area, in which four Muslim men were killed, allegedly in police firing.
LiveLaw has reported in its live blog on the hearing that a bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar has directed that the advocate commissioner’s report must be kept in a sealed cover and not be opened in the meantime.
“Peace and harmony must be maintained. We have to be absolutely neutral,” the Supreme Court has told the Uttar Pradesh administration.
The situation in Sambhal remains tense. Police have arrested 25 Muslims, including two women, and booked around 2,500 persons, including Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, for the violence. It has claimed that it did not use any lethal weapons against the mob – a claim contradicted by the chairperson of the mosque’s managing committee Zafar Ali, who said that he personally witnessed police firing bullets at the mob.