A court in Mathura has admitted a plea seeking removal of a mosque near Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura.
A view of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple and Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, UP (Image credit: PTI)
A court in Mathura has agreed to hear a plea seeking removal of a 17th-century mosque, located next to Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in the city. The court has issued notice to all stakeholders, including the Shahi Idgah Mosque trust and Sunni Waqf Board to appear in the court on November 18.
Last month, a group of people filed a suit in the court of the senior division civil judge in Mathura, claiming the mosque was built at Lord Krishna’s birthplace, within the 13.37-acre complex of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.
When the senior division civil judge dismissed their plea on September 30, they appealed in the district court on October 12 terming the order “erroneous and against facts”.
After summoning the record of the lower court, the District and Sessions Judge Sadhana Thakur admitted the appeal on Friday.
“The plea stated that if the property of the deity has been misused, the worshipper has got every right to sue offenders. It was also submitted to the court that the five-judge bench in the Ayodhya case has ruled that a worshipper has a right to protect the property of the deity” counsel for the petitioners Vishnu Shankar Jain told news agency PTI.
The suit was filed on behalf of the child deity Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman, through the “next friend” Ranjana Agnihotri and others, a PTI report said.
Next friend is a legal term for a person who represents someone directly unable to maintain a suit.
The petition named Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust, Shri Krishna Janambhoomi Trust, and Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan as defendants.
The plaintiffs sought an order directing the mosque management to “remove the construction raised by them encroaching upon the land within the area of the Katra Ksehav Dev temple”.
(With inputs from PTI)