Expedite hearing in Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute: HC

The Allahabad high court Thursday directed the lower court concerned to decide within four months the temporary injunction application as well as a plea for bunching together the trial in all pending cases related to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah mosque dispute.

Justice Salil Kumar Rai passed the order while disposing of a petition filed by Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and others.

The petitioners' plea was that his application for temporary injunction restraining members and person related to the Sunni Waqf Board from entering 13 acres of land of Krishna Janam Bhoomi in Mathura was not being decided by the trial court -- the civil judge (senior division), Mathura.

The HC observed, "The Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mathura is directed to decide the applications expeditiously preferably within a period of four months from the date a certified copy of this order is produced before him and after giving an opportunity of hearing to the affected parties, in case there is no legal impediment in deciding the aforesaid applications."

However, passing the above observation the court made it clear that it has not expressed any opinion either regarding the maintainability of the case or the merits of claim made by the petitioner.

The petitioners had approached the High Court requesting it to fast-track all the cases pertaining to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute.

Over the past several years, at least 10 petitions had been pending in the Mathura court in connection with the dispute.

The petitioners had been claiming that the Shahi Idgah mosque was built after demolishing a part of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple on a stretch of 13.37 acres of the land adjacent to the Krishna Janmbhoomi temple.

The petitioners had been demanding that stretch of land to be returned to the temple.