Mathura's Krishna Janmabhoomi issue: Supreme Court lists hearing in November

New Delhi [India], September 17 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed in November hearing on the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order rejecting the mosque committee challenging the maintainability of various lawsuits initiated by Hindu devotees.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar, meanwhile, asked the counsel of the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah whether they can file an appeal against the Allahabad High Court's single judge bench August 1 order before the division bench. The court sought the lawyer to take instructions in this regard and listed the matter in November 1.
One of the counsel from the devotee sides raised preliminary objection whether appeal will lie in the Supreme Court and said that they can move to division bench of the high court against the order.
The court, which was initially inclined to issue notice on the plea, later adjourned the matter over this issue.
Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi appeared for the Mosque committee, while Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan and advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain appeared for the Hindu parties. Karanjawala and Company, through senior partner Meghna Mishra, alongwith Shreyansh Rathi, Associate, is representing Rajendra Maheshwari, one of the Respondents before the Supreme Court. Maheshwari had filed a Civil Suit in 2020 before the Mathura District Court.
The Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order rejecting the mosque committee challenging the maintainability of various lawsuits initiated by Hindu devotees.
In the plea, the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah challenged order dated August 1 passed by the High Court of Allahabad, whereby the High Court has
dismissed the Applications under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) filed by the mosque committee seeking rejection of plaints in 15 different suits filed by the Hindu devotees.
The management committee has filed the plea through advocate Mehmood Pracha and RHA Sikander and also sought interim relief for putting a stay on the HC order.
More than 15 suits by different plaintiffs have been filed claiming competing rights over the Shahi Masjid Eidgah on the ground that it is the site of the birthplace of Lord Shri Krishna (Krishna Janmabhoomi).
"The petitioner herein, who has been arrayed as a defendant by the different plaintiffs/respondents herein in the subject (15) suits, had filed individual applications under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC in each suit for rejection of the respective Plaint. The Plaints were, inter alia, barred by the provisions of the Limitation Act, Places of Worship Act, Specific Relief Act, Waqf Act and Order XXIII Rule 3A of the CPC," the plea said.
"After hearing all the parties in all the 15 Suits, the High Court has passed an inherently flawed Judgement by combining selective pleadings of different Suits filed by different Plaintiffs/Respondents herein (containing differing pleadings and claiming different reliefs), into a common hotchpotch, to make a new composite Suit from the pleadings of the 15
Suits and thereafter, reading them selectively to dismiss all the applications under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC filed in all the 15 suits by a common judgement," the plea said.
"The High Court has passed a common judgement by a selective combined reading of the pleadings in 15 suits and not taken into consideration the specific pleadings of each Plaint to decide whether that particular plaintiff is barred by law on the basis of its pleadings," the plea filed by the mosque committee said.
On August 1, Allahabad High Court dismissed the petition filed by the mosque committee challenging the maintainability of lawsuits initiated by Hindu devotees.
Various matters relating to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute
are being dealt in different legal forums. Earlier, the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah has filed an appeal in the top court challenging Allahabad High Court order, which transfers to itself all the petitions relating to Mathura's Krishna Janambhoomi land dispute from District Court Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Masjid Idgah challenged the order dated May 26 passed by the Allahabad High Court, whereby it transferred all such cases relating to the Krishna Janambhoomi dispute from the District Court Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, to itself.
Ranjana Agnihotri, a resident of Lucknow, had filed a suit in Mathura court demanding the ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi.In her legal suit, Agnihotri demanded removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque built in Krishna Janmabhoomi.
The suit filed in the Mathura court sought the removal of a mosque said to have been built in 1669-70 on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple, near the birthplace of Lord Krishna.