SC postpones hearing on mosque panel's plea against Centre, ASI

New Delhi

On Monday, the Supreme Court postponed the hearing of a plea from the mosque committee challenging a high court order that allowed Hindu litigants to include the Centre and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as respondents in the Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute. The Allahabad High Court, on March 5, 2025, had allowed amendments to two lawsuits, permitting petitioners to bring the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and ASI into the case.

A bench, consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, found no initial issues with the amendment of the lawsuit and said that replies to the amended plaint could be filed. However, the court deferred the mosque committee’s plea and tagged it with other ongoing related cases.

The mosque committee argued that the amendment changed the nature of the original suit filed by the Hindu litigants, who claimed the site of the Shahi Masjid Eidgah as the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The committee also claimed that over 15 suits are pending on the same issue, with overlapping claims.

The committee further argued that the high court allowed the impleading of ASI and MHA without any formal application under the Civil Procedure Code, and without proving they were essential parties to the case.

The controversy centers around the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, which the Hindu side contends was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after demolishing a temple at Lord Krishna’s birthplace.