Shahi Idgah mosque row: Mathura court reserves decision to appoint commissioner for survey

Months after Hindu groups filed a suit demanding a survey in the Shahi Idgah mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, a Mathura court on Friday again reserved its decision over appointing a commissioner to survey the mosque premises in regards to verifying the temple signs in it, reported PTI. Earlier on Monday, the court had reserved its order on applications pertaining to the dispute and adjourned the hearing till July 21. 

Speaking on the same, Devkinandan Sharma and Deepak Sharma, advocates of Dinesh Sharma, the treasurer of the plaintiff Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, told PTI that the hearing took place in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Sanjay Chaudhary during which the decision was reserved after they insisted for allowing a survey in the mosque located near the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. 

“We insisted on the demand of conducting a survey of the Idgah through the court-appointed commissioner. On this the court has reserved the decision,” they said. 

Further adding that the next course of action will be decided after the court arrives at a decision, the advocates noted that they have planned to appeal against the verdict if it doesn't come in their favour. 

Dispute over Mathura's Shahi Idgah mosque 

Notably, this issue came to the light earlier in May when the Mandir-Masjid debate had spread across the country with courts finding themselves hearing multiple cases of dispute over land belonging to either one of them. During this while, another series of petitions were filed before a Mathura court by Hindu groups demanding a survey inside the Shahi Idgah mosque through the appointment of a commissioner. 

As alleged by the groups, they believed that the mosque was constructed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after destroying a part of a temple on Krishna Janmabhoomi, the land where Lord Krishna is said to have been born. 

Notably, the Hindu groups claimed that certain "Hindu artefacts and religious inscriptions" are still present inside the premises and therefore the appointment of a commissioner is important to confirm the same. 

This came weeks after a Varanasi court allowed the appointment of a commissioner for surveying the disputed Gyanvapi mosque. This led to a major debate across the country after the survey team found a 'structure' inside the wazukhana of the mosque, which was later claimed by the Hindu groups that the team have discovered a 'Shivling'. 

Image: Shutterstock/PTI