Krishna Janmabhoomi Case: Better if Allahabad High Court decides on all petitions- Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought from the registrar of the Allahabad High Court the details of civil suits filed in connection with the Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Masjid Idgah dispute, which sought to be consolidated and transferred from the trial court to the high court. A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing a petition challenging the May 26 order passed by the Allahabad High Court to transfer all pending cases related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute from the Mathura court to it.
The Supreme Court said, “It is better if all the cases are heard together in the Allahabad High Court.” The Supreme Court asked the registrar of the Allahabad High Court that which petitions were to be clubbed together in this matter. The court has sought details in three weeks.
Justice Kaul said, “Considering the nature of the matter, is it not better that the High Court hears the matter? Think aloud, if it is tried at a higher level. The pendency of the matter is a cause of its own disquiet.”
The Shahi Idgah Committee (Muslim side) has demanded a stay from the Supreme Court on the decision of the Allahabad High Court. However, in this case, Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer for the Hindu side, has already filed a caveat petition in the Supreme Court. The caveat demands that their arguments be heard before the Supreme Court passes any order on the matter.
In its petition filed in the Supreme Court, the Shahi Idgah Masjid Committee of Mathura has demanded a stay on the May 26 order of the Allahabad High Court. It has been said in the petition of the Idgah Committee that the decision of the High Court is not correct on the basis of facts and law. Not only this, the decision of the High Court nullifies the statutory right of appeal of the Muslim side, as it is doing away with the two appellate stages of the trial.
On 26 May, the Allahabad High Court transferred all the Krishna Janmabhoomi-related petitions pending in the Mathura district judge’s court to itself.
