New Delhi, May 19: The Allahabad High Court is set to pronounce its verdict in the ongoing dispute between Jama Masjid and Harihar Mandir in Sambhal district on Monday. The High Court will give its judgement on the civil revision petition filed by the mosque committee.

The verdict will be delivered at 2 p.m. by a single bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal.

The case centres around a civil revision petition filed by the Jama Masjid Management Committee, challenging the maintainability of a suit that led to a survey order by the Sambhal Civil Court.

The committee is contesting the lower court’s decision dated November 19, 2024, which directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), along with an Advocate Commissioner, to conduct a survey of the mosque premises.

Following the civil court’s order, a preliminary survey was initiated on the same day, November 19, and continued on November 24. However, the situation escalated during the second round of the survey, resulting in violence that left four people dead. Subsequently, the civil court had ordered the submission of the survey report by November 29.

In response, the mosque committee approached the Allahabad High Court, which held its first hearing on January 8, 2025. On the same day, the court issued an interim stay on the civil court’s survey directive and also stayed proceedings in the original suit pending before the lower court.

The case has since seen around 15 hearings, with final arguments concluding on May 13. The High Court had then reserved its judgment, after concluding hearing in the matter.

Earlier, on March 12, the High Court partially accepted the mosque committee’s plea to allow painting and maintenance work on the outer walls of the mosque during the month of Ramadan, directing the ASI to supervise the process.

The original suit in the civil court was filed by senior Supreme Court advocate Harishankar Jain and seven others, who claimed that the Jama Masjid was constructed over a pre-existing Harihar Temple. The plaintiffs have sought the right to worship at what they claim is the original temple site.

Ratnagiri, May 19: At least five people were killed when a car in which they were travelling lost control and plunged into the Jagbudi River in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district on Monday.

The unfortunate incident happened in the early hours on the Mumbai-Goa Highway. The occupants were travelling from Mumbai to Devrukh to attend a funeral ceremony.

While five died in the accident, the driver of the car sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The cause of the accident was not known yet. As per preliminary reports, the car lost control, skidded off and fell 100 to 150 feet into the river. The accident took place around 5 a.m.

Locals and rescue officials moved quickly to the scene and tried to rescue the victims from the sunken car.

The survivor of the accident was rushed to a local hospital for immediate treatment. The case is being further investigated to identify the root cause of the accident.

The car was lifted out of the river with cranes, and the police had a tough time retrieving the bodies from the mangled car.

The locals, who were the first to rush to the spot after hearing the impact sound, immediately informed the police. The identities of the deceased were yet to be established.

In an earlier accident, at least three people were killed and eight others injured in a head-on collision between a tempo traveller and a truck on the Satara-Lonand route near Salpe village in Maharashtra during the intervening night of May 10 and 11. The truck was found to be speeding.

On May 9, in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, four people were killed and 20 others injured in a road accident. The accident occurred on the Tala-Mandad road when a speeding dumpster hit a state transport bus. The injured were promptly moved to the nearest hospital. The state transport bus suffered massive damage in the accident.

Mumbai, May 17: Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Husain Dalwai on Saturday welcomed the central government’s initiative on constituting an all-party parliamentary delegation that will visit major global partner nations, including member countries of the United Nations Security Council, to share information about India’s anti-terrorism policies, military actions, and ‘Operation Sindoor’. He called it a commendable step toward exposing the real face of Pakistan on the international stage.

Speaking to Media, Dalwai emphasised the need to highlight, at global forums, the damage inflicted on India — especially Jammu and Kashmir — by Pakistan.

He stated that, for the first time, the government is including leaders from all political parties in such a delegation, allowing a united front to present the truth about Pakistan’s activities.

Questions were raised over the inclusion of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the delegation, as his name was not on the Congress’ official list.

Clarifying the matter, Dalwai said, “The government itself included Shashi Tharoor in the delegation. The Congress had finalised and submitted four names. If there are any internal concerns, the party’s central committee will address them.”

Tharoor’s recent praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked speculation that this may be the reason for his exclusion from the Congress’ submitted list.

Responding to this, Dalwai noted, “If a leader adopts an independent political stance, the party certainly takes it into consideration. However, such decisions lie with the party leadership.”

Dalwai also described the government’s delegation initiative as a step in the right direction. He said this is the first time the BJP-led government is seriously sending a multi-party delegation abroad to present the extent of damage caused by Pakistan.

He emphasised the importance of gaining international support, particularly on the Kashmir issue. Citing recent Pakistani statements, Dalwai remarked that India’s military operations have created panic across the border.

“Had our soldiers been given a little more time, Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) might also have been freed,” he added.

Commenting on the INDIA bloc, Dalwai stated that the coalition remains intact. He confirmed that Opposition parties in Maharashtra will contest the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Municipal Corporation elections together.

“Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole recently met Uddhav Thackeray, and it has been decided that we will fight these elections unitedly,” he concluded.

This comes after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday praised the BJP, describing it as “formidably organised” across all fronts. However, he also expressed doubts about the unity of the INDIA bloc, admitting he was uncertain whether the Opposition alliance remained intact.