New Delhi: The Allahabad high court rejected Uttar Pradesh administration’s decision to restrict the number of persons offering namaz in a mosque in Sambhal, asking the superintendent of police and the district collector to “resign or seek transfer” if they could not maintain law and order, LiveLaw reported.A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan was hearing a petition by Munazir Khan, who alleged that he was prevented from conducting prayers during Ramzan on Gata no. 291, where the mosque exists, as per the petitioner.“We outrightly reject the contention put forth by the learned counsel for the State. It is the duty of the State to ensure the rule of law prevails under every circumstance,” the bench stated.“If the local authorities i.e. superintendent of police and collector feels that the law and order situation could arise because of which they want to limit the number of worshipers within the premises, they should either resign from their post or seek transfer outside Sambhal if they feel they are not competent enough to enforce the rule of law,” the court observed.As of March 2026, Rajender Pensiya is the district collector of Sambhal, and K.K. Bishnoi is the superintendent of police.The Uttar Pradesh administration disputed the ownership of Gata No.291, saying this was reflected in the names of Mohan Singh and Bhooraj Singh, both sons of Sukhi Singh, in the revenue records.However, permission for namaz was granted only to the extent of 20 worshippers. The petitioner objected to this saying a larger number of people may come for prayers as it was the month of Ramzan.The judges said that it is the “duty of state to ensure that every community is able to offer worship peacefully in the designated place of worship” and if it is a private property as already been held by the court earlier, to perform worship without any permission from the state.The matter has been listed for further hearing on March 16. Sambal is not new to communal disputes or clashes.Notably, on November 24, 2024, major communal clashes had erupted in the city during the second court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. A local court had initially ordered the survey on November 19 following a petition claiming that the Mughal-era mosque was built over the remains of a demolished temple for Kalki, the prophesied avatar of Vishnu.While the first survey on November 19 – conducted within hours of the court order – was conducted peacefully, the second survey had spiralled into violence, with reports that the mosque’s ablution tank was drained during the procedure, an act many locals perceived as desecration. Subsequent clashes led to police deploying lathi charges, tear gas and gunfire.