Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Case: Allahabad HC Junks Plea To Declare Mosque As 'Disputed Structure'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) In the ongoing cases pertaining to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed an application seeking to substitute the term 'Shahi Idgah Mosque ' with 'disputed structure' in all future proceedings related to the cases before the High Court, a LiveLaw report said.

A Bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra said that the application was being dismissed“at this stage”. According to the report, a total of 18 cases are currently pending before the High Court. All cases seek the removal of alleged illegal encroachments from the premises of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, currently referred to as the Shahi Idgah Mosque.

What is the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute?

Petitioners say that the Shahi Eidgah mosque in Mathura, built during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb 's era, was allegedly built after demolishing a temple at the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

A 'compromise agreement' was brokered between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan (the temple management authority), and the Trust Shahi Masjid Eidgah in 1968. This allowed both place of worship to operate simultaneously, the report added.

However, fresh pleas have now questioned the validity of this agreement, seeking various forms of relief in courts with respect to Krishna Janmabhoomi. The pleas have challenged the compromise agreement by arguing that it was made fraudulently and is invalid in law. Claiming a right to worship at the disputed site, many of them have sought the removal of Shahi Eidgah mosque's removal.

Brief timeline of the case in court

The Allahabad High Court transferred all cases pending before the Mathura court seeking various reliefs pertaining to the dispute to itself in May 2023. However, this transfer order was challenged in the Supreme Court by the mosque committee, and later by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, the LiveLaw report added.

In December 2023, the Allahabad High Court allowed a plea seeking the appointment of a court commissioner to inspect the Shahi Idgah Mosque. In January 2024, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the order. Subsequently, this stay was extended , the report said.

Plea to include Radha Rani as party in case rejected

In May this year, the Allahabad High Court rejected an application impleading goddess Radha be made a party to one of the 18 suits pertaining to the Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah title dispute.

Rejecting the application, Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra said, "Puranic illustrations are considered hearsay evidence."

The court said, "The claim of the applicant as a joint holder of property in dispute together with plaintiff is based on some reference in various Purans and Sanhitas wherein Shriji Radha Rani is considered as the soul of lord Krishna."

In the hearing held on May 23, it said that the Pauranic illustrations, and what they depict, "is usually based on narrative and not on direct observation or testimony."

According to a PTI report, the application, moved through Advocate Reena N Singh claimed that the applicant – Shriji Radha Rani - is the legal wife and the feminine form of the plaintiff in suit - Sri Bhagwan Krishna Lala Virajman - and that together, they both are worshipped as deities since time immemorial.

They both allegedly hold the disputed land comprising 13.37 acres, it argued.

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