NEW DELHI: Spurred by the success of Ram Lalla Virajman’s 1989 civil lawsuit to obtain ownership of the disputed Ayodhya land in 2019, Srikrishna Virajman filed a civil lawsuit in a Mathura court on Friday seeking the property of a full 13.37 acres of Krishna Janmabhumi’s land and its disposal. by Shahi Idgah Masjid.
The plaintiff is described as’ Bhagwan SriKrishna Virjman in Katra Keshav Dev Khewat, city of Mauja Mathura Bazaar, who moved the civil suit through his next friend Ranjana Agnihotri and accompanied by six other devotees.
After filing the lawsuit, defenders Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain told TOI, “This lawsuit is being filed for the removal of the invasion and superstructure illegally erected by the Management Committee of the alleged Masjid Idgah trust with the consent Waqf Sunni Central Board on Khewat land No.255 in Katra Keshav Dev, Mathura city belonging to the deity Shree Krishna Virajman “.
But, what would stand in the way of settlement of the lawsuit is the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, which exempted property litigation over the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid litigation, but prohibited Any other court hear a dispute that would alter the status quo of a religious site as it existed in 1947.
After handing over the disputed land to the Hindus for the construction of the Ram Temple and five separate acres for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya on November 9 last year, the CS had closed the door to further litigation to alter the status quo. from places like Kashi and Mathura, which have also seen discord over worship.
He had said: “By providing a guarantee for the preservation of the religious character of the places of public worship as they existed on August 15, 1947 and against the conversion of the places of public worship, Parliament determined that the independence of the colonial regime provides a constitutional basis for healing the injustices of the past by providing confidence to each religious community that their places of worship will be preserved and that their character will not be altered. ”
“Non-regression is a fundamental characteristic of the fundamental constitutional principles of which secularism is a central component. The Law of Places of Worship is, therefore, a legislative intervention that preserves non-retrogression as an essential characteristic of our secular values ”, had ruled a court of five judges headed by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
Aware of the prohibition imposed by the 1991 law, a Hindu group through Vishnu Shankar Jain has already challenged the validity of the legislation to the extent that it prohibits Hindu deities from claiming the land that belonged to them and where temples existed. before its demolition by Muslim rulers. But the SC in the Ayodhya case had said that the courts cannot correct historical errors.
The new lawsuit filed by Srikrishna Virajman through her close friend Ranjana Agnihotri read: “The UP Sunni Waqf Board, Trust Masjid Idgah or any member of the Muslim community have no interest or right in the property of Katra Keshav Dev in a area measuring 13.37 acres and the entire land dressed with the deity Bhagwan Shree Krishn Virajman “.
In detailing the history of the place, quoting historian Jadu Nath Sarkar, the plaintiffs said: “In 1669-70, Aurangzeb was partially demolished. The Shree Krishna temple at the birth of Lord Krishna, located in Katra Keshavdev, a structure was erected that It was named Idgah Mosque. One hundred years later, Marathas won the Battle of Govardhan and became the ruler of the entire Agra and Mathura area. Marathas restored and renovated the temple of Lord Shree Krishna’s birthplace in Katra Keshavdev after remove the so-called mosque structure. ”
The lawsuit claimed that the Marathas declared the land of Agra and Mathura as Nazul land and the British continued to treat the land in the same way after annexing Mathura in 1803. In 1815, the British auctioned off the 13.37 acres of land and It was bought by Raja. Patnimal de Banaras, who became the owner of the land. In 1921, a civil court had dismissed a lawsuit by Muslims claiming the land.
In February 1944, Raja Patni Mal’s heirs sold 13.37 acres of land to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Goswami Ganesh Dutt, and Bhiken Lalji Aattrey for Rs 13,400, which was paid for by Jugal Kishore Birla. Latter created a Trust in March 1951 specifically mentioning that the entire 13.37 acres of land will be transferred to the Trust and a glorious temple will be built.
In October 1968, a compromise was reached between Shree Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Idgah despite the society having no property rights to the land. The society, according to the lawsuit, accepted some demands of Trust Masjid Idgah against the interest of the deity and the devotees. In July 1973, the civil judge in Mathura issued a pending judgment on the basis of the compromise and prohibited any alteration of the existing structures.
The lawsuit filed by the deity through a close friend seeks the suspension of the decree that prohibits the removal of the mosque and the alleged encroachments on the land called Shree Krishna Janmbhoomi. The lawsuit also claimed that, along with the deity, Janm Asthan (Janmabhoomi) is a legal person. In the Ayodhya ruling, the CV had recognized Ram Lalla as a legal person, but had ruled that ‘Ram Janmboomi’ cannot be given legal status.
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