The Supreme Court (SC) extended the stay on Monday regarding the operation of the Allahabad High Court's order, which permitted a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.
Meanwhile, a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta slated a batch of petitions filed by the mosque management committee for hearing in the week beginning August 5. These petitions include one challenging the high court's order from May 26, 2023, which transferred all matters related to the dispute pending before a Mathura court to itself.
Adding that there will be no stay on the suit proceedings before the high court, the bench ordered, "All interim orders will continue. Re-list the matters in the week commencing August 5. Meanwhile, all pleading shall be completed."
In Mathura, a suit was filed in the court of Civil Judge Senior Division (III) seeking the relocation of the Shahi Idgah mosque, asserting that it was built on a portion of the 13.37-acre land belonging to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust.
Request Of Hindu side
The Hindu side had urged the high court to conduct the original trial as it had done in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Hindu outfits, mentioned that petitions challenging the maintainability of suits under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) are scheduled for hearing before the high court on Tuesday. He requested the bench to list the matter for hearing at a later date.
Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi, appearing for the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah, stated that the main matter listed for hearing is the one that challenges the high court order of May 26, 2023, transferring to the suits. The bench highlighted that it would consolidate all the matters together in August.
Earlier, on January 16, the apex court had halted the execution of the December 14, 2023 order of the high court allowing a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex. This order had approved the appointment of a court commissioner to oversee the survey of the mosque premises, which the Hindu side claims display signs indicating the presence of a temple at the site.
In its plea, the mosque committee argued that the high court should have considered its plea for dismissal of the complaint before deciding on any other miscellaneous application in the suit.
The committee had sought dismissal of the plea before the high court, contending that the lawsuit is barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits alteration of the character of religious places as they stood on August 15, 1947. The disputed site in Ayodhya was exempted from the Act.