The Supreme Court has ordered the release of Danish, Faizan, and Nazir, arrested over the 2024 Sambhal clashes during a survey near Shahi Jama Masjid. The trio had been in custody for nearly a year as the case continues to stir political debate in Uttar Pradesh.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered the release on bail of three men who were arrested in connection with the violent clashes that took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal last year during a court-ordered survey near the Shahi Jama Masjid.
A Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan directed that Danish, Faizan, and Nazir be released on bail. The court noted that the three men have been in jail since 2024 and said that the local trial court will decide the conditions for their release.
The process of their release will begin once the Uttar Pradesh government receives the Supreme Court’s order.
These three men were among several others arrested after clashes broke out in November 2024. The violence started when a team arrived to conduct a survey of the 16th-century Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal.
The survey had been ordered by a local civil court based on a petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who claimed that the mosque was built over a demolished temple, the historic Harihar Mandir.
When the survey team began the second phase of the exercise, hundreds of protesters gathered to oppose it. Soon, the situation turned violent, leading to heavy stone-pelting and firing.
Four people were killed, and more than 20 policemen were injured. A case was registered against several accused, including Samajwadi Party MP Zia ur Rahman Barq, who was accused by the police of having “instigated the mob.”
However, Barq denied the allegations, saying “he was in Bengaluru at the time.” The incident led to a major political controversy.
The Samajwadi Party blamed the Yogi Adityanath government for mishandling the situation. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that
“this was a riot orchestrated by the government”
and that the administration had carried out the survey
“without proper notice.”
Officials, however, rejected these claims and maintained that
“prior notice for the survey was issued to the mosque management.”
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Allahabad High Court granted interim relief to Samajwadi Party MP Zia ur Rahman Barq. The High Court has stayed the proceedings in the trial court against him until further orders.
The court has also sought responses from the state government and other defendants, and the next hearing in the matter is scheduled for December 8.
ALSO READ: PIL in Delhi High Court Challenges Ban on Teachers Giving Private Tuitions
The Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail to Danish, Faizan, and Nazir comes as a significant development in the Sambhal violence case, which had sparked communal tensions and political debates across the state.
The bail order marks the first major relief for the accused after almost a year in custody, while the High Court’s intervention has provided temporary relief to the sitting MP facing charges related to the same incident.
Click Here to Read More Reports On Minorities
