In a new twist in the ongoing legal battle over the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque matter, another petition was filed in a Mathura court by a Hindu seer claiming ownership of the entire land on which the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi was situated and seeking removal of the adjoining Shahi Idgah Mosque.
The court fixed July 20 for a hearing of the matter.
The seer Gopal Giri, in his petition, has claimed ownership of the entire 13.7 acres of land on which Srikrishna Janmabhoomi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque were situated. He has filed the petition as a disciple of 'Thakurji' (Lord Krishna).
Giri's counsel Deepak Sharma said on Saturday that the matter was scheduled to be heard on Friday but it could not be taken up owing to the strike by the local lawyers.
Giri's petition was among ten other petitions currently pending in the Mathura district court in this regard.
Barely a couple of days back a Mathura court had admitted a petition seeking the removal of the Idgah Mosque from the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi complex scrapping of the agreement between the Srikrishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Idgah Masjid in 1968 and handing over the entire land to the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi Trust. The agreement allowed the Mosque to continue to exist and use the land on which it was situated.
The Allahabad High Court had recently directed a Mathura court to dispose of the petitions claiming ownership of the entire land on which the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi was situated and seeking removal of the adjoining Shahi Idgah Mosque within four months.
A single bench comprising Justice Salil Kumar Rai had also directed the district court to hear all the petitions together and ensure the presence of all the parties in the matter and pass an ex-parte order if the Sunni Central Waqf Board, the opposite party in the dispute, did not attend the hearing.
A total of nine petitions were pending in the Mathura district courts with regard to the ownership claims of the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Complex. All the petitions were filed by the Hindu parties.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which had spearheaded the Ram Temple movement, had made it clear that the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi issue would be taken up in 2024 the year the next general elections were scheduled to be held in the country.
The All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), an apex body of the seers in the country, had extended its support to the petition.