Allahabad High Court, on Tuesday, allowed a plea seeking the appointment of a court commissioner to inspect the historic Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura.
The modalities of the survey will be decided on December 18, when the court resumes the hearing.
In September this year, the Supreme Court of India had refused to entertain a plea by the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Nirman Trust seeking a scientific survey of Shahi Idgah mosque premises, leaving all questions relating to the ongoing Hindu nationalists’ claims open to the Allahabad High Court to decide.
In October, the Allahabad High Court had dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea seeking recognition of Mathura’s historic mosque site as Krishna Janam Bhoomi.
Since the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 and the Supreme Court’s decision to construct Ram Mandir on the land where once the Masjid stood, Hindutva groups have been claiming sites, where mosques are standing, as Hindu sacred sites. Various Hindutva forces have constantly invoked the slogan “Ayodhya Toh Sirf Jhanki Hai, Kashi Mathura Baki Hai” which translates to – “Ayodhya is a mere trailer, Kashi and Mathura are still left”, referring to the Gyanvapi Mosque in Benaras and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura.
