NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, on Monday, once again extended the interim stay on the Allahabad High Court order appointing a commission to inspect the Shahi Idgah Mosque situated adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.
A two-judge bench, led by Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, listed the matter for further hearing in August. It directed that the interim orders will continue till then. “All interim orders will continue. Re-list the matters in the week commencing August 5,” the bench ordered.
It was hearing the pleas related to Krishna Janmabhoomi’s dispute with the Shahi Idgah Masjid. The Shahi Idgah Masjid Committee has filed a batch of petitions challenging the Allahabad HC order appointing a commission to inspect the mosque.
In its earlier order, the apex court had rejected an appeal filed by the mosque committee challenging the Allahabad HC order to consolidate 15 suits concerning the Krishna Janmabhoomi against the Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute.
Notably, in May 2023, the Allahabad court transferred all the suits about the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute to itself, forcing the mosque committee to move the top court challenging the order. The committee had moved the top court, objecting to the HC’s consolidation of 15 cases about the dispute for joint hearings. The SC ruled that the jurisdiction of this matter lies solely within the purview of the High Court.
A number of separate petitions were filed in lower courts in Mathura. The petitions sought the removal of the Shahi Idgah Masjid from the 13.37-acre complex, which it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev temple. The petitioner, the Hindu side, has claimed that the Shahi Idgah mosque holds signs that suggest that it was a Hindu temple once.