District judge, Mathura, to hear claim plea for Krishna janambhoomi on Nov 18

New Delhi (ILNS): An appeal for the removal of the 17th Century Idgah Mosque, adjacent to the birthplace of Lord Krishna in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh will be heard. On November 11 the All India Body of Priests and a social organization had filed an appeal in court to become parties in the matter.

In two applications in the District Judge’s court, the All India Tirtha Purohit Mahasabha and Mathur Chaturvedi Parishad condemned the petition to remove the royal Eidgah mosque built within the Katesh Keshav Dev temple, arguing that the issue could create communal unrest in the city.

Earlier, this petition was filed by Ranjana Agnihotri and five others on behalf of the Lord Shri Krishna Virajaman. Ranjana is a resident of Lucknow. She claimed that the mosque, located on the 13.37 acre campus of the temple, was built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna and demanded its removal.

The petition was dismissed in the lower court, following which the petitioners moved the district court against the order last month. The appeal was filed in the court of District Judge Sadhana Rani Thakur, who is scheduled to hear the case on November 18.

Mahesh Pathak, president of the All India Teerth Purohit Mahasabha, told the media on November 11: “We do not want anyone to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of the city and the matter is being unnecessarily taken up after the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. All the community members are happily living here together.” He said that people want development and employment generation instead of a temple-mosque issue.

He said: “We want the status quo to remain. Additional land can be acquired for the expansion of the temple complex.” The application made by the body of priests also stated that in the previous petition, the claim of ownership of land was not in accordance with the Puja Act, 1991.

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