Upholding the Hindu side’s case, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the Muslim side’s plea on the maintainability of the suit in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura. Dismissing the mosque committee’s petition, the court said all the 18 suits are maintainable and the trial can continue.
On June 6, Justice Mayank Kumar Jain had reserved his judgment on the plea moved by the Muslim side regarding maintainability of the suits. The court has now fixed August 12 as the date for framing of issues.
The ruling means that the high court is of the view that the suit is not barred by the section of the Places of Worship Act. It rejected the Muslim side’s plea under Section 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), raising grounds of maintainability of the suit.
Several cases have been filed seeking the “removal” of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which stands adjacent to the Krishna temple, with litigants claiming that the Aurangazeb-era mosque was built after the demolition of the temple.
The Muslim side, however, argued that the suits are barred under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and some other laws. The Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and aims to maintain the religious character of such places as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura was built on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, adjacent to the temple believed by the Hindus to be the birthplace of Krishna.
The Hindu side, in their suit, has claimed that the 17th-century Mughal-era mosque was built after demolishing a temple. The demand for a survey was admitted by a local court in December 2022, but the Muslim side had filed an objection in the HC.
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