Mathura temple case: Hindus offer alternative land for mosque

This offer has been made by the petitioners quoting the 2019 judgement by the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi case where the court ruled in favour of the Hindu parties but asked the government to provide land to the Muslims for a mosque, in return.

Petitioners in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi case awaiting hearing in a court of Mathura, have offered the opposing parties representing Muslims one-and-a-half times more land some distance away from the Braj area where the temple and mosque that are subject of the legal dispute are currently located and urged them to give up their claim on the land.

The court of civil judge (senior division) in Mathura has fixed July 5 as the next date of hearing.(Representational image)

This offer has been made by the petitioners quoting the 2019 judgement by the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi case where the court ruled in favour of the Hindu parties but asked the government to provide land to the Muslims for a mosque, in return. According to the petitioners, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the management committee of Shahi Masjid, EIdgah) should accept the offer to resolve the matter amicably.

One of the petitioners, Mahendra Pratap Singh, an advocate, moved an application to this effect in the court of civil judge (senior division) at Mathura on Tuesday. He is also the president of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Andolan Samiti and claims that his organisation will make the land available to Muslims, if they accept the offer.

The court of civil judge (senior division) in Mathura has fixed July 5 as the next date of hearing.

Tanveer Ahmed, Secretary and counsel for Shahi Masjid Idgah in Mathura denied that copy of applications made by petitioners on Tuesday has been provided to them.

‘No copy of such an application was handed over to us. We will examine the averments made therein after receiving the copy’ said Tanveer Ahmed.

‘The Supreme Court, in its judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi case of Ayodhya, stated that Babri structure was built after bringing down the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya over the same land. The court passed the order holding the disputed place as that owned by ‘Ramlala’ and in lieu of it, Muslims were provided land to have their place of worship across river Saryu in Ayodhya” stated Singh in his application.

“Similarly, in order to get the matter amicably resolved before the court, we have made an offer to the opposite parties (UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and management committee of Shahi Masjid Eidgah) to give up their claim on the land originally belonging to the temple where the Eidgah was built. And in lieu thereof, they (Muslims) would be offered land more than one and a half times anywhere beyond 84 kos of Braj” stated the petitioner. Kos is a measure of distance, approximately 3000 metres.

A suit was filed on December 23 last year on behalf of deity Bhagwan Keshav Dev (Lord Krishna) seeking removal of the Shahi Eidgah (mosque), adjacent the Shri Krishna temple complex in Mathura, and transfer of 13.37-acre land to the deity.

Ahmed said that the suit itself has been challenged. “In fact there is an application moved by us which is pending for disposal. We have challenged the maintainability of the suit in Court at Mathura. Instead of letting that application to be disposed of, petitioners are filing baseless applications, one after another to mislead the Court. The suit is not legally maintainable.”