Mathura mosque panel challenges court’s order for inspection

The management committee of the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura on Monday filed an objection application in the local district court against the December 8 order allowing official inspection of the mosque complex by an amin (an official of the court) while hearing a fresh plea challenging the ownership of 13.77 acre land on which the Idgah is built.

In its December 8 order, Senior Civil Judge Sonika Verma had directed the amin to “inspect” the premises and file a “report along with a map” by January 20, the next date of hearing. “We filed the objection against the inspection order in the same court… The court fixed January 20 to hear all the applications on the matter,” said advocate Tanveer Ahmed, who is also the secretary of the management committee of the mosque.

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According to Ahmed, they objected to the last month’s order by questioning the locus standi of the petitioner. “We were also not heard before the inspection order was passed,” he added.

The fresh plea challenging the ownership of the land has been filed by the Hindu Sena in the name of the deity Bal Krishna against the Intezamia Committee which manages the Idgah.

Advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, who represents the Hindu side, said that since the court would now be hearing the objection against the inspection order on January 20, it meant that the earlier order has been deferred. “The court did not make any specific order on inspection on Monday,” said Singh.