New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (April 4) agreed to examine a plea by the management committee of Shahi Masjid Idgah trust challenging an Allahabad high court order which allowed Hindu claimants to bring in the Union home ministry and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as parties in the ongoing Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute in Mathura.During the hearing, a bench including Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna observed that the high court and plaintiffs were entitled to amend petitions under the Civil Procedure Code, allowing parties to be joined as a plaintiff or defendant in a suit, The Telegraph reported.CJI Khanna noted that if the defence relied on the Places of Worship Act, 1991, plaintiffs could amend their plea arguing it does not apply. Hindu claimants assert the dispute falls under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, claiming the site is an ancient protected monument.Representing the mosque committee, advocate Tasneem Ahmadi, submitted that the high court’s amendment order might contradict a Supreme Court directive restraining interim orders like surveys in such suits. While agreeing this required examination, the CJI pointed out the mosque committee hadn’t previously contested the specific order. Separately, the ASI, responding to an RTI query in February 2024, shared 1920 United Provinces Gazette records, Hindustan Times reported. These indicated Mughal ruler Aurangzeb dismantled the Keshavdev temple at the Katra mound site, which was then “utilised for the mosque,” the ASI document stated, as per the report. The RTI was filed by Ajay Pratap Singh from Mainpuri.The apex court, on January 22, extended its January 16, 2023, interim stay on a high court order appointing a court commissioner for inspection, the report mentioned. The Supreme Court had stayed the Allahabad high court’s December 2023 order for a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Eidgah complex in January 2024, multiple reports indicated, while permitting high court proceedings on the suit’s maintainability. During related proceedings on January 10, the Supreme Court had questioned challenges to the high court’s May 2023 decision consolidating nearly 18 suits related to the dispute, adjourning that matter, reports indicated. The high court affirmed the consolidation in August 2024.