Allahabad High Court will give its verdict today in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute case of Mathura. The court’s decision is expected by 2 pm. In the petitions filed by the Hindu side, they have described the land of Shahi Idgah Mosque as belonging to Hindus and have demanded the right to worship there. At the same time, the Muslim side cited the Places of Worship Act, Waqf Act, Limitation Act and Specific Possession Relief Act and argued for the dismissal of the petitions of the Hindu side.
Now Allahabad High Court will decide whether the 18 petitions filed in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute in Mathura will be heard together or not. The single bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain of Court No. 71 in HC will give the verdict. Earlier, after the completion of the hearing on June 6, the High Court had reserved the decision.
Actually, 18 petitions have been filed from 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 very important for 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 on behalf of Lord Shri Krishna Virajman Katra Keshav Dev and seven others. After that, Shahi Idgah Mosque Committee and Sunni Central Waqf Board had also filed petitions in Allahabad High Court under Order 7, Rule 11 of CPC.
In the petitions filed by the Hindu side, it has been claimed that the mosque has been constructed on 13.37 acres of land of Katra Keshav Dev Temple. This mosque of Aurangzeb’s era was built after the demolition of the temple. Now Allahabad High Court will decide whether 18 petitions of Hindu side are worthy of hearing or not.
The arguments of Muslim parties are that…
1. An agreement has been reached 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 maintainable.
2. The case is not maintainable even under the Places of Worship Act 1991.
3. The identity and nature of the religious place as it was on 15 August 1947 will remain the same. That means its nature cannot be changed.
4. This matter should also be looked into under the Limitation Act and Waqf Act.
5. This dispute should be heard in the Waqf Tribunal. This is not a matter to be heard in civil court.
The arguments of 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 the year 2020, lawyer Ranjana Agnihotri and seven other parties had jointly filed this case in Mathura Civil Court. This petition was initially rejected by a civil court. Later the district court considered it ‘worthy of hearing’. After a period of two and a half years, an 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. Considering the sensitivity and importance of the matter, on the application of Hindu parties, in May 2023, Allahabad High Court had summoned all the 18 petitions before it for a consolidated decision.
Muslim parties had expressed their objection to this and requested for their rejection. The Muslim side has argued that all these 18 applications have been filed on weak grounds and arguments. Therefore, it is not worthy of hearing.
What decision did the court give on Advocate Commission?
Earlier, on December 14, 2023, the Allahabad High Court had accepted the application demanding formation of Advocate Commission for court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex adjacent to Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple. This order of Allahabad High Court was challenged by the Muslim side in the Supreme Court.
On the petition of the Muslim party, the Supreme Court had stayed the order constituting the Advocate Commission by the Allahabad High Court on January 17, 2024, but the Supreme Court had made it clear that under Order 7, Rule 11 of the CPC, including the maintainability of the case. Hearing in the dispute will continue before Allahabad High Court.
After the Supreme Court’s stay order, the Hindu side had also filed an application demanding a revenue survey in the Allahabad High Court. In May 2023, Allahabad High Court had transferred all the cases related to Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute from Mathura Court to itself.