SC Extends Stay on HC Order Allowing Survey of Shahi Idgah Complex

The Supreme Court has extended its stay on the Allahabad High Court's December 14, 2023 order, which directed a survey of the Shahi Eidgah mosque near the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura. The bench, consisting of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, has scheduled further hearings for April.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday extended its stay on the Allahabad High Court's December 14, 2023, order directing a survey of the Shahi Eidgah mosque adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. A bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta scheduled the matter for further hearing in April. The apex court asked the parties to file pleadings and written submissions.

On January 16, the apex court had stayed the High Court’s order, while clarifying that the other proceedings before the High Court would continue in the matter. In the previous hearing, Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi appeared for the Idgah Committee and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Wakf Board. Senior advocate Shyam Divan had vehemently argued against a complete stay on the order and stressed before the apex court that the High Court may be allowed to at least work out the modalities of the survey. However, the bench said that the commission shall not be implemented for now.

The apex court told Divan “Your application for commissioner was very vague. It had to be specific...you have to be very clear what you want him (commissioner) for, but you leave it to the court”. The bench, while staying the Allahabad High Court order of December 14 for the appointment of an advocate-commissioner to oversee the survey of the mosque, observed that the Hindu plaintiffs did not specify the rationale behind the plea.

“You cannot say that appoint a commissioner in terms of the prayers in the plaint. You must be specific about what exactly you are asking for…”, said the bench. The apex court then fixed the matter for further later in the month, when the other batch of petitions, which have challenged the High Court order decided to hear nearly 18 suits relating to Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah land disputes by transferring them to itself from various civil courts in Mathura, would also be considered.