Suit seeking Krishna idol recovery from Agra Fort maintainable: Agra court

The case was initially filed last year by Sri Krishna Janambhoomi Sanrakshit Sewa Trust, a body headed by Hindu preacher (katha vachak) Devki Nandan Thakur

Judge, Small Causes Court at Agra, Mritunjay Srivastava has held that the suit filed for recovery of Krishna idols allegedly bought to Agra from Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura allegedly destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century and buried under the stairs of mosque within Agra Fort, is maintainable.

The plaintiff sought excavation at the mosque within Agra Fort premises to dig out Krishna idols buried under stairs of mosque by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. (For Representation)

“The court, in its order passed on Monday that was made available on Tuesday, dismissed the application moved by Muslims seeking rejection of plaint under provisions laid in Order VII Rule 11 of Civil Procedure Code. The court has listed the case, with another case based on similar facts, for March 15,” said Rajesh Kulshrestha, the counsel for Hindus in the case.

“The court was of view that suit filed on behalf of Shree Bhagwan Shri Krishna Lala Virajman and others was not barred by the Places of Worship Act, 1991, because the plaintiff has sought no relief for worship at Agra Shahi Masjid and thus religious character of mosque has not been challenged,” Kulshrestha added.

While dismissing the application filed by Muslims, the court ordered to list the case—Shree Bhagwan Sri Krishna Lala Virajman versus Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and others—with another similar case bearing no 32 of 2023 Sri Krishna Janambhoomi Sanrakshit Sewa Trust versus Intezamia Committee Shahi Masjid Agra.

The case was initially filed last year by Sri Krishna Janambhoomi Sanrakshit Sewa Trust, a body headed by Hindu preacher (katha vachak) Devki Nandan Thakur. The plaintiff sought excavation at the mosque within Agra Fort premises to dig out Krishna idols buried under stairs of mosque by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

To strengthen their claim, the plaintiff filed extract of book ‘Maasir-e-Alamgiri’ written in Persian by Saqi Mustad Khan during Aurangzeb’s reign and later translated by historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar.

Another case was filed by Shree Bhagwan Sri Krishna Lala Virajman against UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and Shahi Eidgah Masjid. The petitioners had stated that these Krishna idols are buried under stairs of mosque of Begum Sahib also known as Choti Masjid of Deewan-e-Khas in Agra Fort.

Maintainability of both petitions was challenged by Muslims but they failed to convince the court which dismissed objections.