Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court, on Friday, turned down a plea to declare the Shahi Eidgah mosque in Mathura a ‘disputed structure’ just as yet. The verdict was delivered by Justice Ram Manohar Mishra, who stated that, based on the available facts and the petition presented, the mosque cannot be labelled as a disputed site at this stage.
The plea was moved by advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, the Hindu side petitioner, on March 5, in the ongoing Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah case. He had urged the court to recognise the Shahi Eidgah mosque as a structure built after demolishing an ancient temple believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
Singh cited historical records ranging from Maasir-i-Alamgiri to documents from the time of former Mathura Collector F S Growse to support his claim that a temple existed at the site long before the mosque.
Singh argued that the Shahi Eidgah committee has not been able to provide any documentary evidence proving the mosque’s legal existence — no land records, no mention in municipal documents, no tax payments, and even a past case of electricity theft allegedly involving the mosque committee. On these grounds, he contended that the structure should be declared disputed.
During the hearing on May 23, which concluded the legal arguments, all other Hindu petitioners supported Singh’s submissions. He compared the Mathura case to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, noting that in the Ayodhya case, the court had first declared the Babri Masjid a disputed structure before issuing its final verdict. Singh suggested a similar approach should be taken in the Mathura matter.
He further claimed that records from the Archaeological Survey of India would confirm the presence of a temple at the site. Additionally, he said that numerous foreign travellers described the location as a Hindu temple, with no mention of a mosque.
The mosque side, however, strongly opposed all such claims.
The court finally ruled that the existing facts do not warrant declaring the Shahi Eidgah as a disputed structure at this point.
So far, 18 suits have been clubbed and remain pending before the Allahabad High Court. All the suits seek the removal of the Shahi Eidgah Masjid, which is alleged to be an illegal encroachment, from the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex in Mathura.
The legal dispute goes back to a 1968 agreement between the temple management authority, Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, and the Shahi Masjid Eidgah Trust. The agreement allowed both Hindus and Muslims to worship peacefully side-by-side.
However, the agreement is now alleged to have been a ‘compromise’, made fraudulently. Multiple suits were filed, seeking removal of the mosque. In 2023, the Allahabad High Court clubbed the suits and transferred the case to itself from a court in Mathura.
