Mathura (UP): The Mathura district court on Tuesday deferred the hearing in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid case till October 3 after the Muslim side failed to appear in the scheduled hearing. The Hindu plaintiff Mahendra Pratap Singh had filed a revision petition in the court of the District Judge. During the hearing, advocates of Sunni Waqf Board and Shahi Idgah Masjid did not appear in the court.
Advocate Tanveer Ahmed, appearing on behalf of Shahi Idgah Masjid, sought more time for the Muslim side to present the arguments. The court granted the Muslim side time till the next hearing on October 3. The district court's hearing came on the directions of the Allahabad High Court on August 29 to complete the hearing in four months in the matter.
The Hindu petitioner in the case is demanding a survey and videography of Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah Complex by appointing the Court Commissioner. The Intezamia Committee of Shahi Masjid Idgah has however questioned the hearing of the case. The Arrangement Committee has raised the issue of maintainability of the case (whether the matter is maintainable or not) by filing an application under Rule 7/11 of the CPC.
Defence counsel Neeraj Sharma submitted that the suit is not maintainable as it is prohibited by the Place of Worship Act. In 1935, the Allahabad High Court allotted 13.37 acres of land to Raja Krishna Das of Banaras. In 1951, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust acquired this land. On October 12, 1968, Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan entered into an agreement with the Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust.
The agreement talks about the continuation of both the temple and the mosque on 13.37 acres. The whole dispute is about these 13.37 acres. Out of this land, 10.9 acres are near Shri Krishna Janmasthan and 2.5 acres are near Shahi Idgah Masjid. In this agreement, the Muslim side left some of its possession for the temple and was given some nearby space in return.
Now the Hindu side is demanding the possession of the entire 13.37 acres of land. A dozen petitions by the Hindu side have been filed in the court of law arguing that the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had built an "illegal mosque by demolishing the temples.
