The Supreme Court on January 5, dismissed an appeal against the Allahabad High Court order which rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking recognition of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah Mosque site as Krishna Janmabhoomi and the removal of the mosque.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to interfere with the High Court order and said the PIL is not maintainable as the several civil suits on the issues raised in it are already pending consideration.
“Let’s not have a multiplicity of litigation. You filed it as a PIL, which is why it was rejected (by the High Court). File it as otherwise, we will see,” Justice Khanna told the petitioner.
“We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and hence SLP is dismissed. We clarify that the dismissal of the SLP nowhere comments on the right of parties to challenge the vires of any enactment or prevents or bars any party from challenging the vires of any enactment,” the apex court stated in the order.
October 12, 2023, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a PIL seeking the removal of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah Mosque, allegedly built on Krishna Janmabhoomi, which the petitioner advocate Mahek Maheshwari claims to be the birthplace of Bhagwan Krishna.
It was contended in his PIL that various texts had recorded the site in question as Krishna Janmabhoomi land and claimed that it was not a proper mosque, as the same was built by forcibly acquiring the land in question.
The plea said that it was not a proper mosque because as per Islamic jurisprudence, a mosque could not be built on forcibly acquired land. On the other hand, as per Hindu jurisprudence, a temple was a temple even if it was in ruins, added the petition.
(with inputs from ANI)
