A civil court in Mathura has ordered a survey of the Shahi Idgah Masjid and sought a report on the same by January 20, in one of the petitions related to the Shahi Idgah mosque-Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple dispute.
Civil Judge (Senior Division) Sonika Verma passed the order earlier this week on a civil suit filed by Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta and vice president Surjit Yadav. The suit was filed on December 8 this year, and sought possession of the site at which the mosque stands and the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque.
The Mathura court has now directed the Court Amin (court officers) to visit the disputed premises and conduct a survey of the area. The court officers have been asked to submit a report with site plans and maps before the court by January 20, 2023 when the petition will be taken up next.
The Hindu Sena chief’s suit claimed that the mosque was built allegedly on the site where Lord Krishna was purportedly born and sought that the agreement between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and the Shahi Idgah Masjid Committee in 1968 be cancelled, calling it illegal.
The argument presented is that the temple trust did not have the power to act against the interest of the people belonging to the faith and against the interest of the deity.
This is one of over a dozen petitions pending in the civil courts of Mathura with regards to the Shahi Idgah-Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute.
The order comes on the backs of Varanasi courts deciding on more than occasion that the Hindu plaintiffs’ suit in the Gyanvapi dispute was maintainable.
Reacting to the order in Mathura, Alok Kumar, working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said, “Similarly, in the Gyanvapi case, the survey was ordered and carried out. Even the Supreme Court had not granted them a stay on it. So, we believe this order will now be complied with. I would say that all those who have nothing to hide and who do not fear the truth would support this.”
