SC extends stay on survey of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah mosque

The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its stay on a 2023 order by the Allahabad High Court allowing a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, The Indian Express reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan extended the stay while hearing a petition filed by the Committee of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah, against the High Court order. The bench fixed the matter for hearing in the week beginning April 1.

On December 14, 2023, the High Court allowed a petition demanding that a court commissioner be appointed to inspect the mosque adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

The petitioners in the case have demanded full ownership of 13.37 acres of land around the mosque, claiming that it is the birthplace of the Hindu deity Krishna.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the petitioners, had told media persons that there were several indications of the presence of a Hindu temple at the site, but to know its actual position an advocate commissioner is required.

The suit was filed after the High Court on May 26, 2023, transferred to itself all the petitions pending before a Mathura court seeking various reliefs, including the removal of the mosque.

The Committee of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah, challenged the High…

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