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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court on Monday, April 1, 2024, heard the arguments of counsel for the Muslim side on the application under Order VII Rule XI of CPC concerning the maintainability of a suit filed in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute at Mathura.

The bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain noted that the arguments advanced by Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi, counsel for the defendants (the Muslim side comprising the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the management committee of Shahi-Eidgah Masjid), on the application for rejection of plaint, were concluded in Original Suits Nos1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16 and 18 of 2023.

To be noted, the court is seized with a total of 18 suits pertaining to the dispute. It has already consolidated 15 suits to be heard together. 

Before the single judge bench, Advocate Ahmadi contended that the title suit should not be entertained due to its conflict with the Waqf Act and the Places of Worship Act 1991.

These laws prohibit the conversion of places of worship and mandate the preservation of their religious character as of August 15, 1947, she argued.

Ahmadi also argued that the suit is time-barred, citing a compromise reached in 1968 and confirmed in a civil suit in 1974. According to her, the suit, filed in 2020, exceeds the statute of limitations for challenging such compromises, which is three years.

Furthermore, Ahmadi pointed out that the suit seeks possession after the removal of the Shahi Eidgah Masjid structure, restoration of a temple, and a permanent injunction. She asserted that since the masjid structure remains and is under the management committee's possession, a dispute over Waqf property arises, thereby falling under the jurisdiction of the Waqf Tribunal rather than a civil court.

In response, the Hindu plaintiff's counsel requested additional time to file objections to the application challenging the suit's maintainability under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC. The court allowed this request.

Throughout the proceedings, Senior Advocate Manish Goyal assisted the court as amicus curiae.

The matter is scheduled to be next heard on April 4, 2024, at 2:00 pm.

The Dispute:

The suits before the court are related to 13.37 acre land at Katra, Keshav Dev. The main relief sought through the suits is a direction for removal of the mosque from the land in question.

A claim has been made by many devotees of Lord Krishna that the Shahi Idgah Mosque is built over the land belonging to the deity and the actual birthplace of Lord Krishna lies beneath it.

It has been alleged that the 13.37 acres of land, which also includes the mosque area, is the Krishna Janmbhoomi land, and, the illegal structure was raised by Muslims over it.

Case Title: Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman At Katra Keshav Dev Khewat No. 255 And 7 Others v. U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board And 3 Others And Connected Matters

[Inputs: Hindustan Times]