Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque dispute: SC adjourns a batch of petitions until the first half of April 2024

On January 29, 2024, the Supreme Court (SC) bench constituting Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta adjourned a batch of petitions related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque dispute until the first half of April. Along with this, the bench extended the interim stay granted on an order of the High Court appointing a commissioner to inspect the survey of the mosque premises in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The SC order reads, “On the joint request of the parties, re-list in the first half of the month of April 2024. In the meantime, parties will complete the pleadings. Parties will also file written submissions in each of the matters not exceeding three pages along with relied upon judgments. Interim orders, whenever granted, to continue.”

During the court proceedings, the SC was hearing the SLPs (Special Leave Petitions) against a May 2023 Allahabad High Court order transferring a batch of suits over the land to itself. These petitions were filed by the mosque committee and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board. Along with this, another SPL was filed by the mosque committee against the December 2023 Allahabad HC order allowing the appointment of a court commissioner to inspect the mosque. After considering the joint request of the parties, the SC adjourned the hearing of all three petitions as well as the interim stay against the direction of appointing a commissioner was extended till the next date of the hearing.