The plea seeking the removal of the Idgah mosque allegedly built over Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi has been dismissed by a Mathura civil court today. The plea was filed last week in the court of Civil Judge Division Chhaya Sharma in Mathura district. The court dismissed the petition citing the bar under the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991.
Krishna Janmabhoomi Case : Mathura civil court dismisses the suit filed to remove Idgah Mosque alleging that it was built over Krishna Janmabhoomi.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) September 30, 2020
Court cited the bar under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 to admit the suit.
Two Supreme Court Advocates Harishankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain had filed the petition on behalf of Shri Krishna Virajman. Under the petition, the land on which the Shahi Idgah is erected adjacent to the Krishna temple at Katra Keshav Dev in Mathura was claimed. The court had admitted the petition scheduling its hearing on maintainability for today.
The plea had sought the “removal of encroachment and superstructure illegally raised by Committee of Management of alleged Trust Masjid Idgah with the consent of Sunni Central Board of Waqf …at Katra Keshav Dev city Mathura belonging to deity Shree Krishna Virajman.”
The Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991
The Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991 was enacted the by the Congress government under the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. The Act fixed the status of all the places of worship in the country as they existed on August 15, 1947. The disputed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was kept out of the purview of the legislation because it was already being litigated.
According to this act, the religious nature of a place of worship can’t be altered from what was its religious character at the time of independence. The section 4 of the act also says that no court can admit any plea to change the religious character of a place of worship after the Act was enacted. Therefore, the court dismissed the petition in accordance to the law.
