The Uttar Pradesh Government has told the Supreme Court that the well near the disputed mosque in Sambhal is not linked to the masjid and is situated on `public land'.
The Indian Express quoted a status report that was submitted to the Apex court in which the UP government further claimed that the`` disputed site itself is situated on the public land''.
The report further states that the disputed mosque is also situated on public land'. “Even the disputed religious site is itself situated on public land. It is submitted that the well is a public well not situated anywhere inside the mosque/disputed religious site. There is no access to the subject well from inside the mosque”.
The report also said that there is no access to the subject well from inside the mosque”.
Hearing a plea by the mosque management committee, the SC had on January stayed the execution of a “notice”, intentionally issued by Sambhal municipal authorities, regarding a well adjoining the mosque
The status report also said, “It was also found during the inspection that this well was in use since time immemorial by persons of all communities. However, now it has no water, and it was further found that after the communal riots of 1978, a police chowki was built on top of one part of the well. The other part continued to be in use even post-1978. It was further found that sometime in 2012, the subject well was covered and at present, there is no water in the well.”.
On January 10, 2025, the mosque committee had told the Court that the well is situated on the boundary of the mosque and the water from the well is currently being pumped for the mosque.
They opposed the public poster, which bore the name of the Sambhal Nagar Palika, which referred to the well as being located at a corner of Hari Mandir. “Puja will be started (at the site) now,” the mosque management quoted the notice as saying.
The report said, “Upon examining the records, it was revealed that the petitioner has failed to disclose that there is a well within the boundary walls of the mosque/disputed religious site locally known as ‘Yagna koop’.
It is submitted that there has been no interference with the said ‘Yagna koop’. The three-member committee, in its spot inspection, found that the subject Well is situated outside the mosque boundary wall.”
As per a report by Hindustan Times the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure peace and consider resolving the dispute through community mediation under Section 43 of the Mediation Act.
The November 29 order also put the survey report under wraps, instructing authorities not to act upon or publicize it until the high court hears the case
The state also suspected that the “petitioner…has invaded misleading photographs attempting to show that the subject well is located inside its premises” and presented to the court “true copies of the photographs depicting the side views of the subject well, which demonstrate that the same is outside the mosque/Disputed religious site…”
