The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed the Muslim side's motion contesting the maintainability of proceedings seeking the restoration of the Lord Krishna temple at the location of Shahid Eidgah Masjid in the Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Eidgah dispute in Mathura.

Judge Mayank Kumar Jain stated that the Places of Worship Act, which prohibits the conversion of a sacred place as it stood on August 15, 1947 doesn’t bar Hindu plaintiffs from filing lawsuits. Under order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC, the Muslim side filed applications challenging the maintainability of suits.

The lawsuits have been filed for the possession of the disputed site after the removal of the Shahi Eigah Mosque for the restoration of temple, and for a permanent injunction.

The dispute pertains to Mathura's Shahi Eidgah mosque, constructed during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, which is said to have been constructed following the destruction of a temple located at the birthplace of Bhagwan Sri Krishna.

The Supreme Court halted the HC's order for a three-member commissioner team to survey the mosque earlier this month after hearing an identical set of cases.

Judge Mayank Kumar Jain's bench rejected the Muslim side's argument that Hindu lawsuits should be dismissed because they violated the Places of Worship Act of 1991, the Limitation Act of 1963, and the Specific Relief Act of 1963. Instead, the bench stated that all 18 lawsuits that have been filed in the case over the previous few decades are maintainable, clearing the way for the trial.

According to Bar and Bench, the Hindu side's initial lawsuit demanded that the Mathura Shahi Idgah Masjid be taken down on the grounds that it was built over Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. The assertion was made that there were other signs pointing to the Shahi-Idgah Mosque's true identity as a Hindu temple.

Image source: ANI