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Mathura Court Orders Survey of Shahi Idgah Mosque After January 2

Mathura: A local court in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura today ordered a survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque, which is said to have been built on ‘Krishna Janmabhoomi’, or the birthplace of Lord Krishna, by the Archaeological Survey of India after January 2. be submitted after January 20.

The court issued the order on a plea filed by Vishnu Gupta of the right-wing group Hindu Sena, who said the survey would be similar to the one at the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, where a “Shivling” was allegedly found during the survey.
The court set January 20 as the next date for hearing the case.

The suit is one of many Hindu organizations demanding the removal of the 17th-century Shahi Idgah Masjid from the Katra Keshav Dev Temple, claiming that the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

The Shahi Idgah Mosque, as per Vishnu Gupta’s petition, was built at Krishna Janmabhoomi on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70 on the premises of the Katra Keshav Dev Temple spread over an area of ​​13.37 acres.

Vishnu Gupta’s lawyer Shailesh Dubey said that on December 8, the Delhi-based Mr. Gupta, the national president of the Hindu Sena, and its vice-president Surjit Singh Yadav had made this allegation in court.

“He presented the court with the entire history from the birth of Lord Krishna to the construction of the temple. He also demanded the annulment of the agreement entered into between Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh vs Shahi Idgah in 1968 and called it illegal,” Mr. Dubey said.

The Mathura Civil Court had earlier dismissed the case saying it was inadmissible under the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which preserves the religious status of any place of worship as it was on August 15, 1947.

The only exception to the law was the Ayodhya Temple and Mosque case involving the 16th-century Babri Mosque, which was demolished in 1992 by Hindu activists who believed it was built on the ruins of an ancient temple.

In 2019, the Supreme Court handed over the mosque site to Hindus for the grand Ram Temple and ordered an alternative site for the mosque.

The Mathura court had earlier dismissed the Krishna Janmabhoomi suit saying that if it was registered, many devotees may approach the court in various cases.

The applicants then appealed against the decision.

In their plea, the petitioners claimed that as devotees of Lord Krishna, they had the right to approach the court.

They say they have the right to worship at the actual birthplace of Lord Krishna.

The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha earlier this month called for the recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa inside the Shahi Masjid Idgah to mark the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

One of the leaders of the unit was arrested and seven or eight were detained.

In Varanasi in May this year, a Hindu party claimed that a shiva linga was found in a pond inside the mosque complex during a court-ordered three-day video survey of the Gyanvapi Masjid complex.

“The pond was used for purification rituals (wuzu),” their lawyer said, adding that water was drained from the pond and a shiva linga was reportedly found.

However, the District Magistrate of Varanasi said that no member of the committee that conducted the survey had disclosed any details of the Gyanvapi mosque survey. The court is still considering several motions filed by both sides after the survey.

Following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the long-running Ram Janmabhoomi case in November 2019, Hindu groups raised the issue of “acquisition” of what they claim are “Hindu sites” in Mathura and Kashi.

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