HC directs Mangaluru court not to pronounce judgement on maintainability of mosque suit

The High Court of Karnataka has directed a court in the coastal city of Mangaluru not to pronounce its verdict on the maintainability of an original suit that seeks to survey a local mosque.

The III Additional Civil Court in Mangaluru is hearing a suit by T A Dhananjaya and B A Manoj Kumar claiming that architecture of a temple was discovered during the renovation of the Assayed Abdullahi Madani mosque in Malali, Thenka Ulipady village, near Mangaluru.

They have sought a survey of the mosque to verify this claim.

Senior advocate Vivek Reddy, appearing for the same petitioners in the HC, argued that there should be a survey by a court- appointed commissioner and a report based on it, but the lower court should not be allowed to decide on the maintainability of such a case before that.

If the suit in the lower court is dismissed on maintainability, there were chances of the structures inside the mosque being removed or destroyed, he argued.

The single-judge bench of the High Court of Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum on Monday issued notice to the mosque authorities and directed the lower court not to pronounce its verdict on the maintainability of the suit and adjourned the hearing to June 17.

The lower court had earlier directed the mosque authorities not to remove the contested structures.