New Delhi: Blankeo of Sambhal Jama Masjid began on Sunday after the orders of the Superior Court of Allahabadwhich also allowed the mosque to decorate with lightless lights.
The Superior Court, in its order of March 12, allowed decorative lighting from the outside of the Masjida, provided that structural modifications are not made. The court scheduled the next hearing in the case of April 8.
The mosque, a structure of the Mogol era, won national attention after the riots on November 24, 2024, which left four people dead after a local court ordered a site survey.
The dispute around Shahi Jama Masjid arose after a legal petition said the mosque was built on an old Hari to mandate.
The petition led to a survey ordered by the Court, which caused a significant tension in the area.
In November 2024, the clashes broke out between protesters and the police, which allegedly resulted in multiple deaths as the security forces tried to control the disturbances.
The dispute also revived the debates around the Law of Worships of 1991, which legally defends the religious state of the sites as existed on August 15, 1947.
What is the act of places of worship of places?
The law of places of worship, 1991, aims to maintain the religious character of places of worship as they were on August 15, 1947.
It prohibits the conversion of any religious site from one faith to another and prohibits courts to entertain any legal dispute regarding such conversions. The only exception to this law is the RAM Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid, which was already under litigation when the law was approved.
The legislation was introduced to avoid communal conflicts over places of worship. However, recent legal challenges, particularly with respect to mosques in Varanasi, Mathura and Sambhal, have debated the renewed act, and some groups argue that historical complaints must be reconsidered despite the restrictions of the law.