A Mathura court on Saturday ordered the survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India from January 2. The mosque is said to be built on the "Krishna Janmabhoomi" or the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
The report is supposed to be submitted after January 20.
The court was hearing a lawsuit filed by Vishnu Gupta of the Hindu Sena, which said the survey will be similar to the one in Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque where a "Shivling" was said to be found during a survey. The suit is one of the many pleas demanding the removal of the 17th century Shahi Idgah Masjid from the Katra Keshav Dev temple, claiming the mosque has been built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
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According to the petition, the Shahi Idgah mosque was built at the Krishna Janmabhoomi on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70 in the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple.
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Earlier in August, the Allahabad High Court directed a Mathura court to pass an order within four months on an application seeking an ASI survey of Shahi Idgah mosque adjacent to Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.
Justice Piyush Agrawal passed the order on a petition filed by Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and others. The court disposed of the petition with a direction to decide the application within four months.
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The petitioners had sought a direction to the civil judge (senior division), Mathura, to decide the application dated May 13, 2022 pending in the original suit of 2021 (Shri Krishna Virajman and others Vs UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and others) within a stipulated period of time.
It was argued by the counsel for the petitioners that since the application is pending consideration, the petitioners are suffering irreparable loss.
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“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the issue, the present petition stands disposed of finally with a direction to the concerned court below to consider and decide application dated May 13, 2022 in accordance with law expeditiously and preferably within a period of four months,” the high court said.
The civil court in Mathura had earlier dismissed the case saying it cannot be admitted under the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which maintains the religious status of any place of worship as it was on August 15, 1947.
