Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi And Shahi Idgah Dispute| Allahabad HC Directs Transfer Of All Pleas From Mathura Court To It

The Allahabad High Court while allowing a plea relating to Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah dispute has directed the transfer of all pending petitions from Mathura Court to it.

A Single Bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra said, “Let the District Judge, Mathura prepare a list of all such cases of similar nature involving the subject matter and touching upon its periphery, expressly or by implication include particulars of such cases and these suits/cases along with record, as above, shall be duly forwarded to this Court within two weeks and the same shall stand transferred to this Court in exercise of suo motu powers of this Court.”

The Bench noted that as many as 10 suits are stated to be pending before the civil court and that there should be more suits being pending having seminal public importance.

Senior Advocate Hari Shankar Jain, Advocates Vishnu Shankar Jain, Prabhash Pandey, and Pradeep Kumar Sharma represented the applicants while Senior Advocate Wajahat Hussain Khan, AAG Manish Goyal, and Advocate Punit Kumar Gupta represented the respondents.

In this case, the applicants filed a civil suit for declaration, injunction, and right to worship at the site of Shri Krishna Janmasthan and also removal of the present structure alleged to be Shahi Eidgah Mosque. The suit was registered in the court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mathura.

The applicants had requested via their plea that the original trial be conducted by the High Court itself like the Ayodhya dispute. The counsel for the applicants had explained before the Court the historical and religious nature of the suit and claimed that the history of 'Karagar' (jail) of Kans wherein Lord Krishna incarnated in human form, is sacred and divine for the Hindu devotees.

The High Court after hearing the contentions of the counsel observed, “Having said so and looking to the fact that as many as 10 suits are stated to be pending before the civil court and also there should be more suits that can be said to be pending and issue can be said to be seminal public importance affected the masses beyond tribe and beyond communities having not proceeded an inch further since their institution on merits for past two to three years, provides full justification for withdrawal of all the suits touching upon the issue involved in the suit from the civil court concerned to this Court under Section 24(1)(b) CPC while the prayer made for original suit no.353 of 2022 being withdrawn and transferred to this Court made by the applicant is allowed.”

The Court transferred the said suits to it exercising its suo motu powers for trial and appreciated the assistance provided by the counsel appearing on behalf of the parties.

Accordingly, the Court directed the transfer of pleas.

Cause Title- Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman And 7 Others v. U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board And 3 Others (Neutral Citation: 2023:AHC:118588)

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