Allahabad High Court will give its verdict today in the Mathura Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute case. The court’s decision is expected by 2 pm. In the petitions filed by the Hindu side, the land of Shahi Idgah Mosque is said to belong to the Hindus and they have demanded the right to worship there. On the other hand, the Muslim side has cited the Places of Worship Act, Waqf Act, Limitation Act and Specific Possession Relief Act and has argued for the dismissal of the petitions of the Hindu side.
Now the Allahabad High Court will decide whether the 18 petitions filed in the Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute in Mathura will be heard together or not. A single bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain of Court No. 71 in the HC will pronounce the verdict. Earlier, after the completion of the hearing on June 6, the High Court had reserved the decision.
In fact, 18 petitions have been filed by the Hindu side. At the same time, the Muslim side raised questions on the maintainability of these petitions under Order 7 Rule 11 and appealed for their dismissal.
Thursday is considered to be a very important day for the Hindu and Muslim parties. A decision is to be taken on a total of 18 petitions related to Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah. Petitions have been filed regarding the maintainability of the civil suit filed by Lord Shri Krishna Virajman Katra Keshav Dev and seven others. After that, Shahi Idgah Mosque Committee and Sunni Central Waqf Board also filed petitions in Allahabad High Court under Order 7, Rule 11 of CPC.
The petitions filed by the Hindu side claim that the mosque has been built on 13.37 acres of land of Katra Keshav Dev temple. This mosque from the era of Aurangzeb was built after the demolition of the temple. Now the Allahabad High Court will decide whether the 18 petitions of the Hindu side are worth hearing or not.
The arguments of the Muslim parties are that…
1. An agreement was made between the two parties on this land in 1968. It is not right to call the agreement wrong after 60 years. Therefore, the case is not worth pursuing.
2. The case is not worth hearing even under the Places of Worship Act 1991.
3. The identity and nature of the religious place will remain the same as it was on 15 August 1947. That is, its nature cannot be changed.
4. This matter should also be looked into under the Limitation Act and the Wakf Act.
5. This dispute should be heard in the Wakf Tribunal. This is not a case to be heard in a civil court.
The arguments of the Hindu parties are that…
1. The entire two and a half acre area of Idgah is the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shri Krishna.
2. The mosque committee does not have any such record of the land.
3. Order-7, Rule-11 of CPC is not applicable in this petition.
4. The mosque has been constructed illegally by demolishing the temple.
5. The land is owned by Katra Keshav Dev.
6. Without ownership rights, the Waqf Board has declared this land as Waqf property without any legal process.
7. The building is also declared protected by the Archaeological Department, hence the Places of Worship Act does not apply to it.
8. ASI has considered it as Nazul land, it cannot be called Waqf property.
When were the petitions filed…
In 2020, lawyer Ranjana Agnihotri and seven other parties filed this case in the Mathura Civil Court. This petition was initially rejected by a civil court. Later the district court considered it ‘fit for hearing’. After a period of two and a half years, additional 17 petitions were filed in the same court. Since different lower courts were hearing these petitions at different stages in the Mathura District Court itself. Given the sensitivity and importance of the case, in May 2023, on the application of the Hindu parties, the Allahabad High Court summoned all 18 petitions for a consolidated decision.
The Muslim parties objected to this and requested to dismiss them. The Muslim side has argued that all these 18 applications have been filed on weak grounds and arguments. Hence, they are not worth hearing.
What decision did the court give on the Advocate Commission?
Earlier on December 14, 2023, the Allahabad High Court had accepted the petition demanding the formation of an advocate commission to conduct a survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex adjacent to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple under the supervision of the court. This order of the Allahabad High Court was challenged by the Muslim side in the Supreme Court.
On the petition of the Muslim side, the Supreme Court had stayed the order of the Allahabad High Court on 17 January 2024 constituting the Advocate Commission, but the Supreme Court had made it clear that the hearing before the Allahabad High Court in the dispute including the maintainability of the case under Order 7, Rule 11 of the CPC will continue.
After the Supreme Court’s stay order, the Hindu side also filed an application demanding a revenue survey in the Allahabad High Court. In May 2023, the Allahabad High Court transferred all the cases related to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute from the Mathura Court to itself.
