Mathura land dispute: Shahi Idgah Trust moves SC challenging Allahabad HC order to transfer petitions from Mathura court to itself

New Delhi [India]): The Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order to transfer all the petitions relating to Mathura’s Krishna Janambhoomi land dispute from Uttar Pradeh’s District Court Mathura to itself.

The Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah moved the plea through advocate RHA Sikander. The Idgah Trust has challenged an order dated May 26 passed by the High Court of Allahabad whereby it transferred all such cases relating to the Krishna Janambhoomi dispute from the District Court Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, to itself.

The Transfer Application was allowed by the High Court despite the fact that the proceedings in Suit from which the Transfer Application emanated, were stayed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad vide Order dated 03.08.2022.

The impugned Judgment takes away two appellate stages and also transfers other suits to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad for which no transfer applications were filed.

“The impugned Judgment is passed on a mere ipse dixit by indulging in the prophecy of the Respondents No. 1 to 8 that ‘in case the suit is decided by the trial court itself, it will take a long time’ without even considering that the Suit was registered only on 26.05.2022 and the proceedings therein were subsequently stayed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad vide Order dated 03.08.2022 which remained in force till 01.05.2023,” read the petition.

So far nine cases have been filed in Mathura court in the case of Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah Masjid.

Ranjana Agnihotri, a resident of Lucknow had filed a suit demanding the ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Krishna Janmabhoomi. In her legal suit, Agnihotri demanded to remove the Shahi Idgah mosque built in Krishna Janmabhoomi.

The suit filed in the Mathura court has sought the removal of the mosque said to be built in 1669-70 on the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple near the birthplace of Lord Krishna.