On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court conducted a hearing on the civil case regarding the demand to remove the illegal possession of the Shahi Idgah Mosque from the land registered in the name of Katra Keshav Dev in Mathura and to hand over the enshrined Lord Shri Krishna to other claimants.

The mosque side argued that the civil suit should be dismissed. However, due to a shortage of time, the hearing, which lasted for two hours, could not be concluded. The next hearing is scheduled for Friday, February 23rd, starting at 2 pm.

The bench, led by Justice Mayank Jain, is presiding over 18 civil cases, which include matters concerning Lord Shri Krishna, Virajman Katra Keshav Dev, and others. Senior Supreme Court advocate Tasneem Ahmadi presented arguments via video conferencing regarding the objection raised by the mosque side concerning the maintainability of the civil suit under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

He argued that according to the Places of Worship Act 1991, the character of any religious site as it existed on August 15, 1947, cannot be altered. Therefore, the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain such cases, and civil suits should be dismissed. He referenced the pre-independence agreement between the parties, asserting that even based on this agreement, the civil suit should be rejected.

The court ruled that matters already decided cannot be re-litigated. Given that the Shahi Idgah Mosque is Waqf property, the civil court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute. Following a lengthy debate, the hearing was adjourned.

The Sunni Central Waqf Board did not present its side during the hearing. Advocates Nasiruzzama, Hare Ram Tripathi, Pranay Ojha, along with senior advocates Wajahat Hussain Khan and MK Singh, expressed their perspectives on behalf of other opposing parties. However, during the hearing, all advocates and parties representing the plaintiff side, except for the amicus curiae, senior advocate Manish Goyal, and Akanksha Sharma, were present.

The President of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Nyas, along with advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, a party to the case, asserted their intention to submit one thousand pages of evidence in court on Friday. They criticized the mosque side for attempting to prolong the case unnecessarily. They emphasized that neither the Places of Worship Act nor the Limitation Act is applicable in this context, and there exists no ruling by the Waqf Board preventing the liberation of the original sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shri Krishna from encroachment.