Allahabad High Court to Hear Plea for Mathura Mosque Removal

• 10 Apr 2024

Why in News?

The Allahabad high court has fixed a date for hearing a plea regarding the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura , which stands adjacent to the Krishna Janmasthan temple.

Key Points

• The suits filed by Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman at Katra Keshav Dev Khewat and 17 others claim that the mosque was built on 13.37-acre land of Katra Keshav Deo temple.
• History of the Disputed Land:
  • Raja Veer Singh Bundela of Orchha had also built a temple on the same premises in 1618 and the mosque was built by Aurangzeb in 1670 on the site of an earlier temple.
  • The Krishna Janmasthan temple in Mathura is believed to have been built around 2,000 years ago, in the 1st century CE.
  • A survey has been ordered due to demands by Hindu representatives for complete ownership of the premises where the Keshava Deva temple was destroyed on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1670.
    • The area was regarded as nazul land — non-agricultural state land owned by the Marathas, and then the British.
  • The temple was originally built in 1618 during the reign of Jahangir and was patronized by Aurangzeb’s brother and rival, Dara Shukoh.
  • In 1815, the Raja of Benaras purchased the 13.77-acre land from the East India Company.
  • Later, the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust was established.
    • The trust acquired ownership rights over the temple, and in 1951.
    • The 13.77-acre land was placed under the trust with the condition that it would never be sold or pledged.
    • In 1956, the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Sewa Sangh was set up to manage the affairs of the temple.
    • In 1968, an agreement was signed between the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and the Shahi Idgah Masjid Trust, where the temple authority conceded a portion of the land to the Idgah as part of the settlement.
  • The current dispute involves temple petitioners seeking possession of the entire piece of land.