AMN/ WEB DESK
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed Allahabad High Court order appointing commissioner to inspect mosque in connection with Mathura’s Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute case. While the top court stayed the survey order, it allowed the trial in the case to continue in the Allahabad High Court.
Hearing the petition filed by the Muslim side, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta called the Hindu bodies’ application for appointment of court commissioner “vague” and said that it should be very specific on the purpose.
“You can’t file a vague application for appointment of court commissioner. It should be very specific on the purpose. You can’t leave everything to the court to look into it,” the bench told senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for the Hindu bodies.
Reacting to the court’s judgment, advocate Reena N Singh, representing Bhagwan Sri Krishna Lalla Virajman, said the top court had not stayed the trial and it will continue in the Allahabad High Court.
“Today, the court heard about the survey order of the Allahabad High Court case which was being challenged by the Muslim side. The Intezamia Committee had challenged the order and today, the Supreme Court stayed the survey order only. But they have not stayed the trial. The trial at Allahabad High Court will continue…The next date of hearing is on 23rd January…” Singh told a news agency.
The Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid case pertains to the site of the mosque in Mathura where Hindu petitioners claim a temple stood once.
They argue that there are signs in the Shahi Idgah mosque that suggest it was a temple and the mosque was constructed atop the birthplace of Hindu Lord Krishna.
On December 14, 2023, the Allahabad High Court had allowed the Hindu petitioners’ plea seeking a court-monitored survey of the Shahi-Idgah Masjid in Mathura, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna.