After Gyanvapi, Local Court To Hear Plea for Survey of Mathura Mosque

A petition seeking videography of Shahi Idgah Masjid next to Krishnajanmabhoomi was filed in a local Mathura court.

The suit alleges that the Shahi Idgah Masjid was built following illegal encroachment.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A petition seeking a videography survey of the Shahi Idgah Masjid next to Krishnajanmabhoomi was recently filed in a local Mathura court. This comes amid the ongoing Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex controversy in Varanasi, where a similar videography survey was conducted.

The application wants an advocate commissioner to assess the site "on the lines of (the) Gyanvapi mosque" to determine the "existence of Hindu artifacts and ancient religious inscriptions on the mosque premises," as per The Indian Express.

The application was filed in the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mathura. It came a day after the Allahabad High Court directed it to dispose of all cases related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute within four months.

On 12 May, the high court disposed of a petition filed by Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and another, stating, "The Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mathura, is directed to decide the aforesaid applications expeditiously, preferably within a period of four months from the date a certified copy of this order is produced before him, and after giving an opportunity of hearing to the affected parties…."

"It is clarified that the court has not expressed any opinion either regarding the maintainability of the case or the merits of claim made by the petitioner," the high court further said.

What Had the Petitioner Said?

On 13 May, an application was filed in the Civil Judge's Court (Senior Division), Mathura. The application sought the appointment of an advocate commissioner to inspect the Shahi Idgah Masjid.

Petitioner Manish Yadav, who is the national president of the Narayani Sena, told the daily, "I requested the Mathura court to appoint a senior advocate, an advocate commissioner, and get a video survey done of Shahi Idgah immediately because there are still remains of Hindu religion inside the mosque. These are important facts, and the Opposition can remove or delete them. The court is likely to take up my application on 1 July."

Yadav said he had moved the high court as petitions, including the ones seeking a survey of the site by ASI and a direction to stop any construction at the site, were pending.

Earlier, an application had been filed in the same civil court by an advocate named Mahendra Pratap Singh, who also sought a commission to be appointed to survey the mosque.

Representing the Shahi Idgah Masjid, advocate Tanveer Khan said they were waiting for the 1 July hearing of the four petitions pending in connection with the site.

District Judge Likely To Pronounce Judgment on Maintainability of Civil Suit Soon

The District Judge Court, Mathura, is likely to pronounce its judgment on the maintainability of a civil suit soon. Claiming it was built on Krishna Janmabhoomi, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, the suit sought the removal of the mosque.

The suit was filed two years ago by the 'Deity and the Janmasthan' (birthplace) and 'next friend' Ranjana Agnihotri, a Lucknow resident, and others.

The petitioners also want the compromise decree between the governing body of the temple complex and the management trust of the mosque in 1968 to be cancelled.

Advocate Tanveer Khan informed the civil court had rejected this plea in 2020. The petitioners had filed an appeal after that. "I argued that the petitioners are neither the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust nor Shri Krishna Janambhoomi Sewa Sangh, so their petition should be rejected."

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)