Supreme Court extends stay on court-monitored survey of Shahi Idgah mosque complex in Mathura

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its January 16, 2024 stay on the Allahabad High Court's December 14, 2023 order directing a survey of the Shahi Eidgah mosque abutting the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Vishwanathan ordered to list the petitions filed by the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah in the week commencing April 1, 2025.

The top court is separately seized with the challenge to the Allahabad High Court's decision to consolidate nearly 18 suits relating to Krishna Janmasthan-Shahi Eidgah land dispute and transferring the same to itself from various civil courts in Mathura.

The High Court had on May 26, 2023 decided to hear nearly 18 suits related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah land dispute by transferring them to itself from various civil courts in Mathura.

On August 1, 2024, the High Court said trial in 18 suits relating to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute could continue, as it dismissed the challenge by the mosque management committee.

The Allahabad High Court on December 14, 2023 allowed the primary survey of the Shahi Idgah complex adjacent to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura by a court-monitored three-member team of advocate commissioners.

The court had then passed the order on a petition filed on behalf of the deity (Bhagwan Shree Krishna Virajman) through Hari Shankar Jain and others. The petitioners contended that the mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after demolishing a part of Lord Krishna’s birthplace.

The petitioners have claimed ownership over the entire 13.37 acres of land on which the structures are situated. They have also challenged the 1968 agreement between the Shahi Idgah Mosque Committee and the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust that allowed the mosque to use the land on which it was situated.