SC extends stay on court-monitored survey of Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura
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Shahi Idgah Mosque complex, Mathura.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its stay on the Allahabad High Court’s order that permitted a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex in Mathura, which is adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, a highly significant site for Hindus.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justices Sanjay Kumar, and KV Viswanathan decided to defer the hearing on the plea by the ‘Committee of Management of Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah’ against the survey. The matter will now be heard in the week beginning April 1.
The Chief Justice noted that three key issues are pending before the apex court: one concerning an intra-court appeal against the consolidation of lawsuits filed by Hindu litigants, another related to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and the third regarding the mosque’s survey. The bench confirmed that, in the meantime, the interim order from the Allahabad High Court, which had stayed the court-monitored survey, would continue.
The top court had first stayed the Allahabad High Court’s December 14, 2023, order on January 16 last year. This order had allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex and authorized the appointment of a court commissioner to oversee the process.
Hindu litigants claim the premises contain evidence suggesting the site once housed a temple. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu parties, argued that the mosque committee’s appeal against the December 14 order was now infructuous due to subsequent developments.
The Allahabad High Court had earlier rejected the Muslim parties’ plea challenging the maintainability of 18 cases related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute, ruling that the religious character of the mosque must be determined. The court also dismissed claims that the lawsuits violated the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which prohibits changes to the religious character of any shrine as it stood on Independence Day, except in the case of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.
The matter involves a suit filed to shift the Shahi Idgah mosque, alleging it was built on part of a 13.37-acre land owned by the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. The Hindu side has requested the high court to conduct the trial in a manner similar to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case. The High Court had ruled that a court-mo nitored survey should be conducted with a three-member commission of advocates overseeing the process, ensuring no harm would come to the structure during the survey.
With PTI inputs