Cases relating to Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute maintainable: Allahabad High Court

Lucknow: In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the objections filed by the Muslim side to the maintainability of the suits filed by the Hindu petitioners mainly pertaining to the claim over the entire land on which the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah Mosque are located.

A single judge bench comprising Justice Mayank Kumar Jain ruled that the 18 petitions filed by the Hindu side in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute were maintainable.

The Muslim side had challenged the maintainability of the suits filed by the Hindu petitioners and the deity on the ground that they had been barred under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991.

The court said that all the 18 petitions filed by the Hindu side would be heard together from August 12.

The Muslim side’s lawyer said that he would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Vishnu Shankar Jain, one of the lawyers of the Hindu petitioners, said that now the trial in the case would start. He also said that the Hindu petitioners would approach the Supreme Court to get the stay vacated on the order of a survey of the land by an Advocate Commission.

The Hindu petitioners have claimed ownership over the entire 13.37 acres of land on which the complex is situated. They have also challenged the 1968 agreement between the Shahi Idgah Mosque Committee and the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi Trust allowing the mosque to continue to exist and use the land on which it is situated.

The Allahabad High Court had in December last year allowed a plea seeking a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque, which was adjacent to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, in Mathura by a court-appointed commissioner. The Supreme Court had later stayed the order.

The Hindu petitioners contended that the Shahi Idgah Mosque had been built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after demolishing a part of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi.

A total of 18 petitions concerning the matter were pending in the high court, which had transferred all these cases to itself from the Mathura district courts.