E-Paper
Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi case: Plea seeks return of idols from Agra Fort to Mathura temple
An application has been filed in a Mathura court seeking the return of the idols which were supposedly removed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb from the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi temple in Mathura and allegedly placed below the stairs of the Chhoti Masjid at Deewan-e-Khas in the Agra Fort
An application has been filed in a Mathura court seeking the return of the idols which were supposedly removed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb from the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi temple in Mathura and allegedly placed below the stairs of the Chhoti Masjid at Deewan-e-Khas in the Agra Fort. The Mathura court has fixed April 19 as the next date of hearing in the case. Petitioner Mahendra Pratap Singh said the application was moved on Thursday in the court of the civil judge (senior division) Mathura hearing the matter related to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi.
The present application is one of a number of cases filed in Mathura courts in connection with the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. In all these cases, different petitioners have sought removal of the Shahi Eidgah (mosque) adjacent to the Sri Krishna temple complex in Mathura, and transfer of 13.37-acre land to the deity, Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman.
“A temple of Keshav Dev (Krishna) used to exist in a vast area of 13.37 acre in Mathura. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb dismantled the temple and raised a structure at the same place, which is now known as the Eidgah mosque. Many of the stones having symbols of Hindu architecture were removed from the Janmabhoomi and placed in the Eidgah mosque,” Singh claimed.
“We have moved an application in the court seeking the appointment of a court commissioner to inspect the Eidgah mosque in regard to such stones moved from Janmabhoomi and the application is pending for disposal,” Singh added.
“Many historians and writers have mentioned that besides placing these stones in the mosque, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb took along various idols, including that of Lord Krishna, and had them buried under the stairs of the Chhoti Masjid in the Deewan-e-Khas of Agra Fort,” Singh further said.
“We have moved an application, asking the court to depute Archaeological Survey of India or any other competent authority to have these idols excavated from the stairs of the Chhoti Masjid in Agra Fort and brought back to Keshav Dev temple at Sri Krishna Janambhoomi so that they can be placed at the appropriate place in future,” he said.
The petitioners in the cases pertaining to Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi have challenged the settlement dated 12.10.1968 between Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Eidgah, which was part of suit No. 43 of 1967. The petitioners have alleged that the settlement had no legal validity because the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi trust, having ownership and title, was not party to the settlement.
Thus, the court should order for transfer of the Eidgah mosque land to the deity, the petitioners have urged the courts.
