Mangaluru: Court admits suit seeking survey of Malali mosque, to hear it in January

A court in Mangaluru on Wednesday admitted a suit seeking appointment of a commissioner for a survey to ascertain whether the structure sat atop a temple. The plea, filed earlier this year by two individuals, subsequently found backing by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Mangaluru (Karnataka):A court in the city on Wednesday admitted a suit seeking appointment of a commissioner to oversee survey work to be carried out to ascertain whether Assayed Abdullahi Madani mosque, located in Malali, Thenka Ulipady village on the outskirts of Mangaluru was built atop a Hindu temple.

The court, noting the suit was was maintainable., said it will hear the matter coming January. The survey in question was demanded in the original suit by T A Dhananjaya and B A Manoj Kumar, with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad later joining in on the demand. The duo, in their plea, had stated that remnants of a structure resembling a temple were found when the mosque was being demolished for renovation in April, earlier this year.

The mosque administration, however, had claimed that the plea was not maintainable owing to the mosque being a Waqf board property, at the same time filing an application challenging the maintainability of such a case. The plea was subsequently dismissed by the court.

It additionally rejected an application of the mosque authorities seeking to vacate a stay on renovation work being carried out in the mosque. Dhananjaya and Kumar had approached the High Court of Karnataka stating the lower court should appoint the Commissioner instead of hearing arguments about the maintainability of the suit.