SC adjourns hearing on batch of pleas pertaining to Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing on a clutch of petitions pertaining to Mathura's Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute. “At the joint request of parties, re-list in the first half of April, 2024. In the meantime, parties will complete the pleadings,” said a bench presided by Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

The bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, asked parties to file in each matter written submissions not exceedings three pages along with the judgments being relied on by them. Further, it ordered: “Interim orders, wherever granted, can continue till the next date of listing.”

In an interim order passed on January 16, the Supreme Court had stayed the execution of the commission on a plea filed by the Shahi Idgah Masjid Management Committee against the Allahabad High Court allowing the application filed by Hindu devotees for appointment of commissioner to inspect the disputed premise.

However, it had clarified that the trial proceedings pending before the High Court can continue. The top court is also seized of another plea filed by the mosque committee challenging the transfer of suits by the high court to itself.

Multiple suits seeking various reliefs were filed in different courts of Mathura with a common claim that the Eidgah complex was built on the land believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna and where a temple had existed.