The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Allahabad): The historical and contentious dispute over the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah site resurfaced in the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday. The Hindu side contested the legitimacy of a 1968 compromise with the Sunni Central Waqf Board, labeling it a “fraud.” During the court proceedings, the counsel for the Hindu petitioners argued that the land has belonged to the deity Katra Keshav Deo for over a millennium, and that Lord Krishna’s birthplace was destroyed in the 16th century to build a platform that now serves as Idgah.
The case, presided over by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain, is examining the maintainability of a lawsuit filed by the Muslim side that seeks to establish the validity of the 1968 agreement. This agreement, ratified in a 1974 civil suit, was cited by advocate Taslima Aziz Ahmadi, representing the Muslim respondents, who argued that the Hindu side’s current legal challenge is time-barred due to a three-year limitation period on contesting compromises.
Ahmadi emphasized that the suit, filed in 2020, is aimed at regaining possession of the land by dismantling the Shahi Idgah structure and restoring the temple. She noted that the Idgah’s structure remains intact and under the management of the mosque committee.
In response, the Hindu side’s counsel argued for the lawsuit’s admissibility, stating that the legitimacy of the compromise could only be assessed through evidence. The counsel criticized the 1968 compromise, asserting that the deity was not represented in the agreement or the subsequent court decree in 1974. Furthermore, it was claimed that the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, which purportedly entered into the compromise, lacked the authority to do so, as its role was confined to managing the temple’s day-to-day activities and not to making binding agreements regarding the temple’s land.