Krishna Janmabhoomi Case: Court Allows Petition Seeking Removal of Mosque on Temple Land
NEW DELHI, May 19: A local court in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday allowed a petition seeking to remove the Shahi Idgah mosque that it claims is built on the land belonging to the Keshav Dev temple, the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
This means that the lawsuit can be heard by a court. The lawsuit is one of the many by Hindu outfits 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.
The Shahi Idgah mosque, the petitions say, was built at the Krishna Janmabhoomi on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70. Lucknow resident Ranjana Agnihotri had filed the lawsuit as the “next friend of the infant Lord Krishna” of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.
“As worshippers of Lord Krishna we have the right to file a suit demanding restoration of his property. The mosque was wrongly built on Krishna Janmabhoomi. There was a compromise several years ago on the sharing of property, but that compromise was illegal,” said Gopal Khandelwal, lawyer for the petitioner.
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.
The only exception to the law was the Ayodhya temple-mosque case involving the 16th century Babri mosque razed in 1992 by Hindu activists who believed it was built on the ruins of an ancient temple. The Supreme Court in 2019 handed over the mosque site to Hindus for a grand Ram temple and ordered alternative land for a mosque.
The Mathura court had earlier dismissed the Krishna Janmabhoomi suit saying if it was registered then a large number of worshippers may approach the court in various cases. Petitioners had then appealed against the order. The petitioners argue in their suit that as devotees of Lord Krishna, they have a right to approach the court. They say they have the right to worship at the actual birthplace of Lord Krishna.
The Krishna Janmabhoomi complex spans 13.37 acres. According to the petition, the mosque is built on the land that belongs to the temple.
(Manas Dasgupta)
