Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi case: Court overturns order, stays survey of Shahi Eidgah Mosque

AGRA Overturning its previous order, the court of civil judge senior division (fast track court) on Wednesday stayed the survey of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque premises in Mathura. The latest decision comes after the Sunni Central Waqf Board filed its objection in the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi case. The court has now fixed April 11 as the next date of hearing. During the next hearing, other pending applications will be disposed of based on merit.

Last year, the court, during the hearing of the case filed by Hindu Sena office bearers, had ordered for the survey of premises of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque. The survey was to be conducted by the court ameen (a staffer), who was asked to visit Shahi Eidgah premises and prepare a report. However, the order to conduct a survey was objected by the management committees of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque and Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board. They were pressing for the hearing of the application which challenges the maintainability of the case.

“An order was passed by the Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division (Court No. 3) on December 08, 2022, where the case was initially filed, ordering survey by Court Ameen of Shahi Eidgah Mosque premises. The said order was passed without hearing the opponents in the case and was thus, challenged,” said Neeraj Sharma, the counsel for Shahi Eidgah Mosque Management Committee.

“Recently, the Court of Civil Judge Senior Division Fast Track Court also ordered for survey by court ameen on application by petitioner. We objected to the order which was passed despite our objections on record and our application challenging the maintainability of case under Order 7 Rule 11 of Civil Procedure Code,” said Tanveer Ahmed, the secretary and counsel for Shahi Eidgah Mosque Management Committee.

On Tuesday, the counsel for Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board moved objections against the proposed survey and on Wednesday, Neeraj Gaur, the civil judge (senior division) of the fast track court stayed the previous order for survey and recalled the writ issued to the court staff for survey. The recall is valid till April 11, when the case will next be heard.

“Since Monday, proceedings were on for survey by court ameen. We were complying with formalities required for the survey. However, the court has now stayed the order for survey till April 11. Also, April 11 has been fixed for disposal of all pending applications on merit in presence of parties to the case,” said Shailesh Dubey, the counsel for Hindu Sena office bearers, who are petitioners in the case.

To recall, a case pertaining to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi case was filed in December by office bearers of Hindu Sena on behalf of Bhagwan Bal Krishna Thakur Keshav Dev Maharaj (Lord Krishna). On December 8, 2022, the additional civil judge (senior division) ordered the survey of the mosque by the court ameen (court staffer).

The petitioners in the case include -- Vishnu Gupta, the Delhi-based president of Hindu Sena, and Surjit Singh Yadav, vice-president of the outfit and a resident of Gurugram (Haryana). The case has been filed on the behalf of Bhagwan Bal Krishna Virajman Thakur Keshav Dev Ji Maharaj. The petitioners have sought the shifting of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque, claiming that it was constructed on 13.37-acre land of the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. The petition also challenged the settlement dated October 12, 1968, between Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Eidgah, and sought cancellation of judgment and decree based on it.

This is one amongst the dozen cases filed on the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi issue in Mathura courts. The case gained prominence after the court called for an ameen survey report on Shahi Eidgah Mosque, which is close to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. Such applications seeking a survey of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque premises, much on the pattern of the survey of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi, are pending for disposal in other cases too in different courts of Mathura.