October 13: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2020 by Advocate Mahek Maheshwari was dismissed by a Bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday. The PIL claimed that the land on which Mathura’s Shahi Idgah Masjid has been constructed is actually the ‘Krishna Janmabhoomi’ (birthplace of Krishna); hence it must be removed from the disputed land.
The PIL listed various historical texts to support its claim that the location where the Shahi Idgah Masjid stood was the historic ‘Krishna Janmabhoomi’. Advocate Maheshwari asserted that the historical origins of Mathura go back to the age of the Ramayan, whereas Muslim rule and Islam came to India much later.
The PIL also alleged that the Shahi Idgah Masjid did not meet the requirements of a “legitimate mosque” under Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) which states that a mosque cannot be built on “forcibly-acquired land”. It wanted the Court to transfer the ownership of the Shahi Idgah Masjid land to the Hindu community.
The PIL also demanded a court-monitored excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) using GPRS technology at the disputed site. Another civil suit is pending before a trial court in Mathura seeking similar orders.
