In Uttar Pradesh, a court has agreed to hear a petition regarding the Shamsi Shahi mosque in Budaun district. The petition, originally filed in 2022, includes claims supported by what the petitioner says is solid evidence. The petitioner has also requested permission to perform worship at the mosque. This comes amid a separate controversy over an ASI survey at a mosque in Sambhal district.

According to reports, petitioner Advocate Vivek Render stated on Monday that the petition was submitted to the Uttar Pradesh court in 2022 and that the court has acknowledged the plea's maintainability. "The matter is that the property in dispute was actually a temple of Neelkanth Mahadev. The petition was filed on August 8, 2022. The court has accepted the petition. The court also accepted that the application is maintainable. Our main demand is that we must be granted permission to offer prayers at Neelkanth Mahadev temple just like it was done in earlier times," adv Vivek told ANI. The Shamsi Shahi Masjid, situated on a high spot in Sotha Mohalla, is regarded as the tallest structure in Budaun.

The Shamsi Shahi mosque, known as the 7th largest mosque in the country with space for 23,500 people and considered the third oldest still in existence, has its management committee telling the Budaun court that the Hindu outfit's petition is not valid. The Masjid Intezamia Committee of Shamsi Shahi Mosque and the Waqf Board concluded their arguments in the fast-track court on Saturday. The court is set to hear the case next on December 3.

This update on the Budaun Mosque case comes amid ongoing political controversy over the violence in Sambhal. The violence followed a survey of the Jama Masjid Committee, resulting in five deaths and injuries to several others, including police officers. A court notice in a civil case has sparked a dispute, claiming that a Shiva temple is located within the dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan.