New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay an Allahabad High Court order that allowed a primary survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex adjacent to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.
Hindu outfits have claimed the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna and have demanded a survey. The demand was admitted by a local court in December last year but the Muslim side had filed an objection in the High Court.
“The Supreme Court has refused to stay the proceedings and has fixed the matter so far as challenge to the transfer order is concerned on 9th of January…The High Court order will continue and the High Court will proceed with the matter and there is no stay by the Supreme Court,” Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer for the Hindu side said, NDTV reported.
On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court allowed the primary survey of the Idgah complex by a court-monitored three-member team of advocate commissioners. The court on Thursday appointed an advocate commissioner and gave in-principle approval for surveying the Shahi Idgah complex. The modalities of the Commission of advocates for the survey will be decided on December 18.
Earlier, Ranjana Agnihotri, a resident of Lucknow had filed a suit demanding the ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi. In her legal suit, Agnihotri demanded to remove the Shahi Idgah mosque built in Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi.
The suit filed in the Mathura court has sought the removal of a mosque said to have been built in 1669-70 on the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple near the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
The Muslim side had earlier sought to dismiss the petition by citing the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which maintains the religious status of any place of worship as it was on August 15, 1947.
Notably, there are a total of 18 cases in the High Court concerning the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Masjid dispute, after the court transferred to itself all pending suits before the local court in Mathura.