Budaun (UP), Jan 16 The hearing in the Neelkanth Mahadev temple versus Shamsi Jama Masjid dispute here has been fixed for February 12 after the case was reassigned to the court of Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) Suman Tiwari, a lawyer said on Friday.
The case was transferred to fast-track court Judge Pushpendra Chaudhary when Judge Tiwari proceeded on maternity leave. Now that she has returned, the case has been reassigned to her court, advocate Arvind Singh Parmar said.
Parmar said the next hearing has been scheduled for February 12, when the court will decide whether a subordinate court has the jurisdiction to hear such a suit or not.
The dispute dates back to 2022, when Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha's then convener Mukesh Patel claimed that a Neelkanth Mahadev temple existed at the Shamsi Jama Masjid site and sought permission to perform worship inside the structure.
Counsel for the Shamsi Jama Masjid management committee, Anwar Alam, argued that the Supreme Court's directions bar subordinate courts from entertaining such disputes. Therefore, the case should be dismissed.
The Hindu side contended that the apex court's orders do not apply to pending or pre-existing cases and maintained that the matter should be heard on its merits.
Appearing for the Shamsi Jama Masjid management Committee, Alam said the committee had filed an application citing the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
He added that the apex court has already directed all courts in the country not to pass any orders in cases where the 1991 Act is applicable.
