Allahabad High Court to hear Sambhal Jama Masjid violence case today

The Allahabad High Court will on Monday, 15 September, take up a plea filed by the Sambhal Jama Masjid committee chairman, Zafar Ali, seeking to quash the police charge sheet in connection with last year’s violent clashes during a court-ordered survey of the 500-year-old mosque.

Ali, who was arrested in March 2025 after his name surfaced in the investigation, secured bail from the High Court in July. He has now challenged the findings of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which recently submitted a charge sheet running over 4,400 pages across six separate cases linked to the violence.

The matter is listed before Justice Sameer Jain and is expected to be heard later in the day.

The clashes erupted on 24 November 2024, when an archaeological survey was being carried out at the Shahi Jama Masjid, a site protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Tensions escalated after the mosque’s ablution tank was drained during the exercise, leading to rumours and mass protests.

The unrest turned violent, resulting in the deaths of five Muslims, injuries to scores of people, and damage to police vehicles. Authorities imposed curfews, suspended internet services, and filed cases against hundreds of people to restore order.

The SIT charge sheet has named 37 individuals, including Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and the son of local MLA Iqbal Mahmood, while an additional 3,750 unnamed persons are accused of involvement. Police allege that the violence was orchestrated by Shariq Satha, a Sambhal resident described as the mastermind behind the riots.

According to investigators, Satha operated a large car theft racket involving over 300 stolen vehicles from the Delhi-NCR region and allegedly maintained links with underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI.

He is reported to have fled India on a forged passport. Police further claimed that his associates were responsible for the gunfire that killed four of the victims, though no FIR was filed regarding the fifth death.

Investigators also pointed to suspicious financial transactions among local account holders and the recovery of foreign-made cartridges at the clash sites.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered a temporary halt to the mosque survey and referred the matter to the Allahabad High Court in order to preserve peace. Meanwhile, a judicial commission constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government continues to examine whether the violence was premeditated or spontaneous.

The case has reignited historical and communal tensions around the contested heritage site, with political, legal and community ramifications still unfolding.

With IANS inputs