New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday put a stay on the execution of a recent order passed by the Allahabad high court allowing an application to appoint an advocate commission to survey the Shahi Idgah Masjid adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura.The Supreme Court put a temporary hold on the proceedings in the high court a day before the latter was scheduled to hear arguments on the composition and modalities of the advocate commission survey at the Mughal-era mosque. The high court had on December 14, 2023 allowed the application of the Hindu plaintiffs demanding an advocate commission to survey the Shahi Idgah Masjid. The plaintiffs claimed there were a number of signs of Hindu religion on the structure of the mosque.The management committee of the trust taking care of the Shahi Idgah Masjid filed a Special Leave Petition (Civil) against the high court order. Hearing the matter on January 16, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta of the Supreme Court issued notice in the matter and said the proceedings before the high court could continue but the commission survey would not be executed till the next day of hearing, January 23, said reports.An Indian Express report quoted the judges saying that the application filed before the high court by the plaintiffs seeking an advocate commission was “very vague”.“Can an application be made like this? We have reservations about the application. Look at the prayer. It’s so vague. Read it. You cannot make an omnibus application like this. You have to be very clear about what you want the local commissioner to do,” Justice Khanna said, reported the newspaper.A detailed written order of the hearing is yet to be uploaded on the Supreme Court website.There are a total of 18 suits filed by plaintiffs seeking removal of the Shahi Idgah Mosque.On January 11, the high court decided to consolidate 15 out of the 18 suits filed in the matter. Justice Mayank Kumar Jain passed the order, saying that the relief claimed in these 15 suits numbered 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 were similar. The judge said the proceedings in these suits may be decided simultaneously on the basis of common evidence. “To save the time of the Court, the expenses to be incurred to the parties, and to avoid conflicting judgments it appears expedient in the interest of justice to consolidate the suits with each other,” Justice Jain observed.The court made the suit titled Bhagwan Shri Krishan Virajman at Katra Keshav Dev Khewat No. 255 and others Vs. U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board through Chairman and others as the leading case.The case is being argued by pro-Hindutva lawyer Hari Shankar Jain, who was involved in both the Babri Masjid and Gyanvapi Masjid cases and was in 2014 felicitated by the BJP for filing cases against the then Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government.On December 14, while allowing the application for an advocate commission, Justice Jain observed that by appointment of a panel of three advocates as commission, neither side would suffer any harm or injury, as the commissioner report does not affect the merits of the case. During the course of the survey, the “sanctity of the campus can be directed to be maintained strictly” and that no harm or injury be caused to the structure in any manner, the judge said.The commission would also submit its report on the alleged existence of particular Hindu signs in the mosque, as alleged by the plaintiffs.The plaintiffs have claimed that the place of birth of Lord Krishna lies beneath the mosque and that there were a “number of signs” that established that the structure of the mosque was a Hindu temple. The plaintiffs submitted the following in court: the kalash and pinnacle at the top of the mosque exemplify Hindu architectural style and are not present in any Islamic structure; a pillar with a lotus shaped top, a characteristic of Hindu temples, exists above the main gate of the mosque; the image of Hindu deity Sheshnaag, who Hindus believe protected Lord Krishna on the night of his birth, is etched on the wall of the structure; there are visible Hindu religious symbols and engravings at the base of the pillar of the mosque.The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board dismissed these claims, arguing that the Shahi Idgah Mosque does not fall within the ambit of the 13.37 acres land at Katra Keshav Dev and that the birth place of Lord Krishna does not lie beneath the mosque. They categorically denied that designs in Mughal architecture of the mosque resemble Hindu religious symbols or establish that the Shahi Idgah Mosque was a temple.Submitting that the claim of the plaintiffs was based on “guess work” and was “not substantiated by any documentary evidence”, the mosque side, while objecting to a commission survey, said the “court cannot be made a tool to collect evidence for” the plaintiffs.The high court overruled these arguments to allow for a survey. Following the court order, counsel for the plaintiffs Vishnu Shankar Jain submitted an application pleading that the commission may be headed by a retired high court judge and that certain advocates on their behalf may also be permitted to participate in the proceedings of the commission.The high court hearing on the modalities of the advocate commission was listed for January 17.
