A local court on Tuesday began hearing a petition filed by the VHP related to “discovery of a temple-like structure” inside a mosque in Mangaluru’s Malali with Hindu and Muslim sides submitting documents to support their claims. (HT)

By Arun Dev / The Hindustan Times

A local court on Tuesday began hearing a petition filed by the VHP related to “discovery of a temple-like structure” inside a mosque in Mangaluru’s Malali with Hindu and Muslim sides submitting documents to support their claims.

A counsel of Assayed Abdullahil Madani Mosque administrative committee on Tuesday made a submission before the third additional civil court to quash the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) petition under provisions of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

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The VHP, however, filed a fresh plea before the court on Tuesday seeking a court-appointed commission to study the “temple-like structure”.

A Dakshina Kannada district administration official said the mosque management, in its submission, claimed that the land belongs to the Wakf Board and under the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the petition filed by the VHP was not maintainable.

However, Chidanand Kedalaya, lawyer representing the Hindu organisations, said he will be filing a fresh petition in the court on Wednesday. “They (Muslim side) have claimed that under the Places of Worship Act the suit is not maintainable, but we believe it is. It is an ancient monument and there is an exception for such buildings under the provisions of law. So, we will be filing a detailed objection tomorrow (Wednesday),” said Kedalaya.

The fresh petition filed by the VHP on Tuesday requested the court to verify religious character of Malali mosque and permission to conduct a survey of the mosque by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

According to officials in know of the developments, the second petition has sought a court-appointed commission that will conduct a study on the temple with the help of ASI. The court is expected to take up the matter on Wednesday.

The case was filed following a controversy that erupted after a “temple-like structure” was noticed during demolition as part of the renovation of the mosque last month.

According to police, photographs of what appears to be a “kalasha” (spire), “tomara” (pillar) and poles resembling a temple were circulated on the social media soon after the front portion of the mosque was demolished for renovation work undertaken by mosque authority.

Elaborating on how the controversy started, a senior police officer said some earthmovers were deployed at the mosque to bring down its front portion as part of the renovation process. “During the process, an alleged temple-like structure came to some people’s notice. JCB workers deployed at the mosque might have clicked photographs of the structure and shared them online,” the senior police officer said requesting anonymity.

This article first appeared on hindustantimes.com