Krishna Janambhoomi Dispute: Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust Moves Supreme Court Against Allahabad HC Decision To Transfer Suits In Mathura Court To Itself

A Special Leave Petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Allahabad High Court to transfer all pending suits related to the Krishna Janambhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute from the Mathura Court to itself.

The Petition is filed by Committee Of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah through Advocate-on-Record R.H.A. Sikander. It states that, “the Transfer Application was allowed by the High Court despite the fact that the proceedings in Suit No. 353 of 2022 from which the Transfer Application emanated, were stayed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad.”

According to the petitioner, the High Court's transferred other suits also to itself, even though no transfer applications were filed for those suits.

The impugned judgment is rendered based solely on the claim of the respondents that "in case the suit is decided by the trial court itself, it will take a long time", the plea argues.

The decision of transfer was made even without considering that the Suit was registered only on May 26, 2022, the petitioner states.

In May, the Allahabad High Court allowed the transfer application moved by Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman and 7 Others.

The bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra-I observed:

“...looking to the fact that as many as 10 suits are stated to be pending before the civil court and also there 25 should be more suits that can be said to be pending and issue can be said to be seminal public importance affected the masses beyond tribe and beyond communities having not proceeded an inch further since their institution on merits for past two to three years, provides full justification for withdrawal of all the suits touching upon the issue involved in the suit from the civil court concerned to this Court under Section 24(1)(b) CPC."

It was argued by the applicants that the issues involved in the suits pending before the Mathura Court concern crores of devotees of Lord Krishna and the matter is of national importance, hence, the same should be transferred to the HC.

Consequently, the Court allowed the petition and instructed the District Judge of Mathura to compile a list of all similar cases related to the subject matter and those related to it indirectly, either explicitly or implicitly.

Case Title: Committee Of Management, Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah v. Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman & Ors.

Counsel for petitioner: AOR R.H.A. Sikander