Sambhal Violence | Allahabad High Court CJ-Led Bench Directs Listing Of PIL Seeking FIR Against DM, SP Before Appropriate Bench

A Bench led by Chief Justice Arun Bhansali of the Allahabad High Court today directed that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea, which seeks the filing of an FIR against the Sambhal District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, the concerned SHO, and other responsible officers in connection with their alleged involvement in the violence that occurred last month in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, be listed before a bench with the jurisdiction to hear criminal PILs. The Bench, headed by Chief Justice Bhansali and comprising Justice Vikas Budhwar, currently lacks jurisdiction to hear PILs in the nature of criminal writ. Since the present matter pertains to a criminal issue, it falls outside this bench's jurisdiction. Consequently, the Bench directed that the plea be transferred and listed before the appropriate bench with the required jurisdiction. The PIL petition, filed by the Hazrat Khawaja Garib Nawaz Welfare Association through Advocates Saher Naqvi and Mohd. Arif, alleges that four people died due to police firing in the Sambjal violence but no FIR had been filed against the responsible officers, and thus, the same should be done under the directions of the HC. The PIL plea prays that an order for lodging an FIR and the arrest of the defendants be passed as they are all responsible officers with full knowledge of the incident. The petitioner prays that the defendant, the officer accountable for authorizing the firing on the public, be booked. The PIL has implicated concerned District Sambhal administrative officers [District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, Additional Superintendent of Police, Circle Officer, Commandant PAC & SHO] as party defendants. For the uninitiated, violence erupted in Sambhal district after a team led by an advocate commissioner surveyed the Mughal-era Jama Mosque on the orders of a local court. The order was passed ex-parte by the Civil Judge (Senior Division) Aditya Singh on a suit filed by eight plaintiffs, including Mahant Rishiraj Giri, who claimed that the mosque in question was built in 1526 after demolishing a temple that stood there. Advocate Ramesh Chand Raghav was directed to act as an advocate commission. The violence, where protesters opposing the survey of the Jama Masjid clashed with security personnel, has resulted in the deaths of four persons. As per the report of PTI, the protesters torched vehicles and pelted the police with stones while the security personnel used tear gas and batons to disperse the mob. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea has already been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe under the chairmanship of a retired HC judge into the alleged involvement of the Uttar Pradesh government, its administrative officials, including the District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP), in the violence that erupted in Sambhal earlier this week. The PIL plea also prays for a direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to thoroughly investigate the causes and involvement that gave rise to the violence on November 24 and to submit the report within a timeframe as directed by the HC. On November 29, the Supreme Court asked the Sambhal Trial Court not to proceed in the suit against the Shahi Jama Masjid at Chandausi till the petition filed by the Masjid Committee against the survey order is listed in the Allahabad High Court. The Top Court also directed that the report of the Advocate Commissioner, who conducted the mosque survey, be kept in a sealed cover and not opened in the meantime. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing the petition filed by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee challenging the trial court's order passed on November 19 directing an Advocate Commissioner to survey the mosque in a suit which claimed that the mosque was built after destroying a temple.

Sambhal Violence | Allahabad High Court CJ-Led Bench Directs Listing Of PIL Seeking FIR Against DM, SP Before Appropriate Bench

Sparsh Upadhyay

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