Owaisi finds fault with court order for survey of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah

Hyderabad: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised Mathura court order for a survey of Shahi Idgah mosque complex, saying a survey in a civil case should be the last resort.

The Hyderabad MP said that in his opinion, the court is wrong. “I disagree with that order. Legal experts know very well and they have also told me that a survey is ordered by a court only as a last resort when there are no papers to prove a title or anything,” he told media persons.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader said the court used the survey as a first resort while legal experts believe that it should be the last resort.

Owaisi said the civil court surprisingly violated the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which is clear that except Babri Masjid, the nature of religious places that stood on August 15, 1947 can’t be altered.

He said the court completely disregarded that on October 12, 1968, the Shahi Idgah Trust entered into an agreement with Sri Krishna Janmasthan. “The Trust had done this agreement with the expressed approval of Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board. It was signed by both the parties,” he said.

He pointed out that under the agreement the land of Idgah and the temple was clearly defined.

A district court in Mathura on December 24 allowed an official inspection of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex by the Revenue Department in a fresh plea challenging the ownership of 13.77 acres land on which the Idgah is built.

The court directed a Revenue Department official to inspect the premises and file a report along with a map by January 20, the next date of hearing.

The direction has come in a plea filed by the Hindu Sena in the name of the deity Bal Krishna against the Intezamia Committee which manages the Idgah.

The MP recalled that after the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Babri Masjid case, he had stated that this will embolden Hindutva elements and open up a can of worms. “Unfortunately I have been proven right,” he said and hoped that Idgah Trust will appeal against the wrong order and the higher court will look into it.”

Replying to a query, he alleged that the VHP, the RSS, and the BJP want to once again create an environment of hate in the country that prevailed in 1980s and 1990s.

“The BJP is ruling the country but the Prime Minister is not controlling the VHP. Either they don’t heed him or the Prime Minister is sitting silent,” he added.