Petitioner absent, hearing in Lord Krishna's birthplace suit put off

The hearing of the civil suit filed in a Mathura court seeking ownership of the entire 13.37 acres of Krishna Janmabhoomi land has been adjourned till December 10, after the plaintiff in the case, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust, failed to appear before the court on Wednesday.

The Mathura court had on October 16 admitted the plea seeking to remove the mosque, situated adjacent to Krishna Janmabhoomi. The hearing for the same was scheduled for Wednesday.

On September 30, a Mathura civil court had refused to admit a suit to remove an idgah "built on Krishna Janmabhoomi".

The court of the civil judge had dismissed the suit, filed by advocate Vishnu Jain, citing a bar under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

The Act had only exempted the litigation on the ownership of the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya but barred the courts from entertaining litigation that would alter the status quo of a religious place as existed on August 15, 1947.

The suit blamed Mughal ruler Aurangzeb for demolishing a Krishna temple, built at the "birthplace of Lord Shri Krishna at Katra Keshav Dev, Mathura, in the year 1669-70 AD" and raising the "idgah mosque" in its place.

The suit sought the removal of encroachment and the superstructure, now maintained by the Committee of Management of Trust Masjid Idgah with the consent of the Sunni central board.

The suit was filed against the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Committee of Management Trust Masjid Idgah as it granted approval to the latter to enter into an "illegal" compromise with Shree Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh on October 12, 1968. It was illegal and void for the reason that the society had no right over the property involved in civil suit No. 43 of 1967, decided by civil judge, Mathura, it said, adding that the 1968 deed was not binding.

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act declares that the religious character of a place of worship shall continue to be the same as it was on August 15, 1947.

The Act also declared that all suits, appeals, or any other proceedings regarding converting the character of a place of worship, which were pending before any court or authority on August 15, 1947, would abate as soon as the law came into force.