Hearing in case now on July 1
AGRA Hearing in the Krishna Janmabhoomi case could not take place in a Mathura court on Tuesday due to condolence after the death of a lawyer. The court fixed July 1, 2022 as the next date in the case.
The court of civil judge (senior division) Mathura Jyoti Singh is hearing the matter related to Krishna Janmabhoomi and Tuesday was fixed for hearing arguments on the issue of maintainability of the case, but focus had shifted after petitioners in the case moved an application on Monday seeking appointment of advocate commissioner for survey of adjoining Shahi Eidgah mosque on the pattern of Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi.
“No proceedings could take place today because of death of a lawyer practicing in Mathura court and July 1, 2022 has been fixed as the next date in the case,” said Mahendra Pratap Singh, petitioner and counsel in the case.
An application was moved before a local court in Mathura on Monday seeking directions for the appointment of an advocate commissioner to conduct a spot inspection of the Shahi Eidgah mosque, adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi, to find any traces of Hindu religious symbols.
The application mentioned an order passed by a Varanasi court in the Gyanvapi mosqueShringar Gauri temple case, wherein an advocate commissioner was appointed to conduct survey of several deities in the Kashi Vishwanath temple premises and the adjoining Gyanvapi mosque complex.
“There are remains of Hindu religion, including (religious markings such as) Om, Swastika and Sheshnaga (Hindu mythological serpent), within the Shahi Eidgah mosque, which can prove it was originally Thakur Keshav Dev Temple, which was demolished to construct a mosque,” said Mahendra Pratap Singh, counsel for the petitioner Thakur Keshav Dev Ji Maharaj.
Copies of the application were provided to the lawyers of the Shahi Eidgah mosque so that the court might hear it on Tuesday, but the day was observed as a day of condolence and no work took place.
Tanveer Ahmad, secretary of managing committee of Shahi Eidgah Mosque and counsel in the case, had blamed the petitioner counsel for moving unnecessary applications time and again to delay the case.
“The management committee of the Shahi Eidgah (mosque) had moved an application challenging the maintainability of the suit before civil judge (senior division) in Mathura and had prayed for dismissal of the suit under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code and court has part heard the arguments, which were to continue on Tuesday,” said Ahmed.
The application challenging the maintainability of the ongoing suit is based on the provision laid in the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, said Ahmed.
A suit was filed on December 23, 2020, on behalf of the deity (Lord Krishna) seeking removal of Shahi Eidgah (mosque), adjacent the Krishna temple complex in Mathura, and transfer of 13.37-acre land to the deity.
The petitioners in the cases challenged the settlement dated October 12, 1968 between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Eidgah, which was part of suit no. 43 of 1967. The petitioners alleged that the settlement had no legal validity because the Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust, having ownership and title, was not party to it and sought an order on transfer of the Eidgah mosque land to the deity.
However, the management committee of Shahi Eidgah mosque objected to the petition, claiming it has been filed after a long delay as the compromise entered was in 1968 while the judgment and decree in case no. 43 of 1967 were passed in 1974.