MATHURA: A body of priests on Friday decided to become a party to the case under which a plea has been filed for the removal of a 17th-century mosque from near the birthplace of Lord Krishna here.
The Akhil Bharatiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha had earlier condemned the petition for the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, built within the 13.37-acre premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.
The organisation had said "some outsiders" are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of Mathura by raising a frivolous temple-mosque issue.
The senior national general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha, Srikant Vashishta, on Friday said the body decided to become a party to the case at a virtual meeting attended by 50 members of its national executive.
He said organisation's president Mahesh Pathak and vice-president Navin Nagar have been authorised to represent the body in the case.
Earlier, a group of people had filed a suit over the 17th century mosque, which they claimed was built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna, within the 13.37-acre premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.
A lower court had dismissed the plea after which the plaintiffs moved the district court against the order last month.
The suit was filed on behalf of child deity Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman, through the "next friend" Ranjana Agnihotri and others.
Next friend is a legal term for a person who represents someone directly unable to maintain a suit.
The petition named the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board; Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust; Shri Krishna Janambhoomi Trust; and Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan as defendants.
Vashishta said it has also been decided to hold a protest in Uttarakahnd's Dehradun after Diwali against renaming of the "Har ki Pauri" on the bank of the Ganga in Haridwar.
The organisation also requested the Uttarakhand chief minister to rescind the government's decision of forming a Devasthan Board for noted four shrines (char dham) in the state.