Mathura court stays survey of Shahi Idgah Mosque complex

In a significant ruling, a district court in Mathura on Wednesday stayed the ongoing survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque, which was adjacent to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, by the revenue department.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by the Idgah Mosque Committee and Sunni Waqf Board and posted the matter for further hearing on April 13 staying the survey till then.

A Mathura court had, on petitions by the Hindu parties, last month ordered the 'Amin' (a revenue official) to conduct the survey of the disputed site and submit a report.

The Idgah Mosque Committee and the Waqf Board had contended in their petitions that the order of the court to conduct the survey was passed without hearing them and that the court should have first decided whether the petitions by the Hindu parties were maintainable.

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The Hindu petitioners had contended that the Shahi Idgah Mosque had been built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after demolishing a part of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and claimed ownership over the entire 13.37 acres of land on which they were situated.

They have also challenged the 1968 agreement between the Shahi Idgah Mosque Committee and the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi Trust allowing the Mosque to continue to exist and use the land on which it was situated. The petitioners also sought a videography survey of the disputed site on the lines of the videography survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque, which was adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which had spearheaded the Ram Temple movement, had made it clear that the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi issue would be taken up in 2024, the year the next general elections were scheduled to be held in the country.