On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the plea by the Muslim side challenging the maintainability of suits in the ongoing Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute in Mathura. This significant ruling was delivered by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain, who had previously reserved judgment on the matter.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer representing the Hindu side, expressed readiness for any further legal battles, including potential appeals to the Supreme Court. He stated, “Today, Allahabad High Court has rejected the application of Order 7 Rule 11 filed by Shahi Eidgah Masjid and held that all these 18 suits are not barred by the Places of Worship Act. The next date of hearing is August 12. We will file a caveat before the Supreme Court and if the Shahi Eidgah Masjid approaches the SC, we will be present there.”
The controversy centers around multiple suits seeking the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which is adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. The litigants claim that the mosque, constructed during the era of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, was built after demolishing a Hindu temple.
The mosque management committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, representing the Muslim side, had argued that these suits are barred under the Places of Worship Act, 1991. This Act aims to maintain the religious character of places of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. According to the Muslim side, the suits themselves acknowledge that the mosque in question was built in 1669-70.
The Hindu side’s suits contain a common prayer seeking the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque from the 13.37-acre complex it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev temple in Mathura. Additionally, they seek possession of the Shahi Idgah premises.
With the court ruling in favor of the maintainability of these suits, the legal proceedings will continue, with the next hearing scheduled for August 12.