The Allahabad High Court on Thursday upheld the maintainability of 18 suits filed by the Hindu side in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain rejected the application moved by the Muslim side.
The management of Shahi Idgah Masjid had challenged the maintainability of the suits filed by the deity and Hindu parties on the ground that the suits were barred by the Places of Worship Act, the Limitation Act, and the Specific Relief Act.
The matter pertained to the original suit filed by the Hindu side, claiming that the Mathura Shahi Idgah Masjid was built over the Krishna Janmabhoomi land.
The Hindu side sought the removal of the mosque on the ground that there were various indications to support the view that the Shahi-Idgah Mosque was, in fact, a Hindu temple.
On December 14, 2023, the High Court had allowed the application filed on behalf of a Hindu deity, Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and seven other Hindu parties, for the appointment of a court commissioner to inspect the Shahi-Idgah mosque. The direction was later stayed by the Supreme Court.
The proceedings in the matter were transferred from the trial court to the High Court in 2023.
The suit had initially been dismissed by a civil court in September 2020, citing the bar on admitting the case under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
This decision was overturned by the Mathura district court in May 2022, which ruled that the suit was maintainable and overturned the civil court order dismissing the suit.
The plaintiffs (Hindu side) was represented by Advocates Vishnu Jain, Devki Nandan Sharma, Prabhash Pandey and Pradeep Kumar Sharma.
Advocates Tasneem Ahmadi, Nasiruzzaman, Gulrez Khan, Hare Ram, Nasiruzzaman and Punit Kumar Gupta appeared for the defendants (Muslim side).