The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three Muslim men, Danish, Faizan, and Nazir, accused in connection with the protest that broke out on November 24 last year during a court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, during which police opened fire on protesters alleging violence, killing at least five Muslim men.
A bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice R. Mahadevan passed the order, setting aside the Allahabad High Court’s May 19 decision that had denied bail to two of the accused, Faizan and Danish.
The FIRs against the trio stem from an alleged incident that occurred when the district and police administration arrived to conduct a survey of the Jama Masjid following a November 19, 2024, order by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Chandausi, District Sambhal.
The survey aimed to determine whether a temple existed at the mosque site, an exercise that drew strong local opposition.
According to the police, a group of protestors gathered at the spot, and the situation turned violent, leading to stone pelting in which several police personnel sustained injuries and official vehicles were damaged. But what happened in Sambhal, according to Maktoob’s extensive coverage, was that the survey team was accompanied by a right-wing Hindu mob sloganeering “Jai Shri Ram,” which triggered local outrage. Police opened fire on the protesters, and at least five Muslim men were killed in the police firing.
Over a hundred Muslim men were named in FIRs and jailed following the incident.
The defence argued that the accused had been falsely implicated and that there was no credible evidence linking them to the alleged violence.
Speaking to Maktoob after the Supreme Court’s order, Advocate Sulaiman Mohammad Khan, who represented the three Muslim men, said, “The Court has upheld the principle that bail, not jail, is the rule. The prosecution failed to present any independent evidence connecting my clients to the alleged violence. They were picked up arbitrarily, and their prolonged detention without trial was completely unjustified.”
He added, “We approached the SC after the trial and High Court rejected the bail applications despite the chargesheet being filed and no substantial evidence being found against the accused to keep them in detention further. The UP government’s counsel tried hard to keep them in jail despite the investigation being completed.”
“The state tried to persecute them deliberately without any purpose,” Khan said.
He further added that the case reflected a pattern of criminalising protest and dissent, especially around Muslim religious sites, where “administrative overreach and police excesses often go unquestioned.”
The Supreme Court’s order is expected to have a bearing on similar cases arising from the series of mosque surveys ordered by local courts across Uttar Pradesh in the past two years, several of which have triggered tension and arrests.
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