E-Paper
Krishna Janmabhoomi petitioners welcome Gyanvapi survey order
On May 26 this year, the Allahabad high court directed to transfer all matters relating to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi- Shahi Eidgah Masjid dispute pending before the Mathura courts to the high court.
The petitioners who have sought a survey of Shahi Eidgah Mosque premises adjoining Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura have welcomed Allahabad high court’s go-ahead for an ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. They have said they are hopeful of a similar order on their pleas when these are taken up.
On May 26 this year, the Allahabad high court directed to transfer all matters relating to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi- Shahi Eidgah Masjid dispute pending before the Mathura courts to the high court.
Mahendra Pratap Singh, petitioner and lawyer in one of the earliest cases filed on the Krishna Janmbhoomi – Shahi Masjid issue in a Mathura court in September 2020, is among those who have welcomed the Allahabad high court for the Gyanvapi survey.
“We, too, have filed various application seeking a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India in our case but the opposite party, primarily the Intezamia (management) Committee for Shahi Eidgah Mosque, had been adopting all the tactics to delay the proceedings and filed application under Order 7 Rule 11 of Civil Procedure Code, challenging maintainability of cases filed on the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi issue in Mathura courts,” Mahendra Pratap Singh said.
“A copy of the order passed today by the Allahabad high court will be filed by us in our cases whenever they are taken (up) at the Allahabad high court. We will again press our application seeking survey by ASI and court commissioner at Shahi Eidgah Mosque,” Singh said.
Singh plans to hold an exhibition in Vrindavan on August 5 and 6 to showcase what he describes as various signs on Shahi Eidgah Mosque premises in Mathura in support of the claim that the mosque was raised on the debris of a demolished temple in the 17th century.
“Any survey by ASI can unearth and reveal the truth of our claims,” he said.
Rajendra Maheshwari, another lawyer and petitioner in a case related to Krishna Janmabhoomi, said, “As such, the ASI survey of Shahi Eidgah Mosque in Mathura is the best scientific option to clear the centuries old controversy. We will again press our application seeking ASI survey before the high court whenever the cases are listed there once the matter is cleared by the Supreme Court.”
Tanveer Ahmed, secretary and lawyer for intezamia committee of Shahi Eidgah Mosque in Mathura, said, “The matter in Mathura related to Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi and Shahi Eidgah Mosque is quite different from that being heard by the Allahabad high court in regard to Gyanvapi premises in Varanasi. As such, the survey ordered by High Court will have no impact on cases related to Shahi Eidgah Mosque cases of Mathura.”
“The Hindu petitioners had been moving applications seeking ASI survey at Shahi Eidgah Mosque time and again before the Mathura courts and all these applications were dismissed by courts. One of the petitioners had even gone to Allahabad high court seeking a scientific survey of Shahi Eidgah Mosque but it too was rejected because it had no substance,” Ahmed said.
Records of 16 cases related to Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi issue pending before different courts in Mathura were transferred to the Allahabad high court in June in compliance with a high court order dated May 26, 2023.
After the summer vacation, the intezamia (management) committee for Shahi Eidgah Mosque approached the Supreme Court against the Allahabad high court order of May 26. The apex court will hear the matter on August 14. On December 8, 2022, a court in Mathura had allowed a survey of Shahi Eidgah Mosque by a court ‘ameen’ in a fresh petition but the mosque management committee filed objections and got the order stayed. This case has also been transferred to the Allahabad high court. Multiple suits were filed in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute in courts of Mathura since September 2020.
