Source: The Hindu

Introduction

The Supreme Court has recently stayed the order given by the Allahabad High Court in the case of Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah v. Bhagwan Shrikirshna Virajman & Ors. (2022). The Allahabad HC gave directive in positive on application that sought the appointment of a commissioner to inspect the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura. This decision of SC temporarily halts a potential legal avenue aimed at altering the status of the religious site.

What is the Current Position of Shahi Idgah Matter?

• Filing of Petition:
  • Two religions are claiming their religious interest in the dispute land in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh into which a mos.
  • Several petitions were pending before Mathura Court regarding this.
• Transfer of Cases:
  • Those legal cases concerning the Mathura Mosque were consolidated by the Allahabad HC, which transferred them for unified resolution in the case of Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman And 7 Others v. U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board And 3 Others (2022).
  • The bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra-I held that “Looking to the fact that as many as 10 suits are stated to be pending before the civil court and also there 25 should be more suits that can be said that can be said to be pending and issue can be said to be seminal public importance affected the masses beyond tribe and beyond communities having not proceeded an inch further since their institution on merits for past two to three years, provides full justification for withdrawal of all the suits touching upon the issue involved in the suit from the civil court concerned to this Court under Section 24(1)(b) of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC)”.
• Appointment of a Commission:
  • The appointment of a commission to inspect the premises seems to be a strategic move aimed at finding architectural features and artifacts with Hindu origins, resembling a tactic used in the Gyanvapi Mosque case in Varanasi.
• Previous Settlement:
  • The Mathura dispute, previously settled through a compromise in 1968 between the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and the Shahi Idgah Trust, is now under legal scrutiny.
  • The compromise, implemented through a decree in 1973, involved the Sansthan relinquishing a portion of the land to the Idgah.
  • Current legal challenges label this settlement as 'fraudulent' and seek the transfer of the entire land to the deity.

What was the Contention of Supreme Court on Shahi Idgah Mosque?

• The SC cited the lack of specific grounds for the appointment and referred to a recent precedent emphasizing that interim relief should not be granted if there are doubts about the maintainability of the suit or if legal barriers exist.
• Hence, the SC stayed the order of Allahabad HC.
• The SC said that the proceedings before the Allahabad HC will continue. However, the commission will not be executed till the next date of hearing.