Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute: SC stays survey at Mathura Shahi Eidgah

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Allahabad High Court order that allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta stayed the implementation of the December 14, 2023 order by which the HC had agreed to the appointment of a court commissioner to oversee the survey of the mosque premises which, the Hindu side claims, hold signs suggesting that it was a temple once.

The bench said there are certain legal issues which have arisen and questioned the “vague” application made before the high court for appointment of a court commissioner for the survey.

“You can’t file a vague application for appointment of court commissioner. It should be very specific on the purpose. You can’t leave everything to the court to look into it,” the bench told senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Hindu bodies like Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and others. The bench said it is issuing a notice to the Hindu bodies and sought their response by January 23, while making it clear that proceedings before the high court in the dispute will continue.

The top court was hearing a plea of the Committee of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah challenging a high court order that allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah.

The mosque committee, in its plea, has submitted that the high court ought to have considered its petition for rejection of the plaint before deciding on any other miscellaneous applications in the suit.

The committee had sought rejection of the plea on the grounds that the lawsuit is barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provides for the maintenance of their religious character. The law was brought to prevent a religious dispute like that over Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.

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