Shahi Idgah Masjid: Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea to Call Idgah Structure Disputed

In the ongoing legal dispute over the Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah Masjid site in Mathura, the Allahabad High Court has adjourned the next hearing to August 2, 2025. The court granted the adjournment after the Muslim respondents requested additional time to file counter-affidavits.

Hindu lawyers have been arguing for a long time that the Shahi Idgah Masjid is built on the real home of Lord Krishna and want it torn down so that the temple that used to be there can be rebuilt.  However, Muslim groups such as the Shahi Idgah Management Committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board have been disputing these claims and fighting court efforts to tear down the mosque.

Why is the meeting over?

Reports say that the Muslim defendants asked for more time because the case was complicated and there were several petitions going through the Supreme Court at the same time.  Their lawyers claimed that the outcome of the Supreme Court's observations could affect the proceedings in the High Court.  The Hindu side was against the wait because they said it would slow down justice and make people tired of court cases, but the court agreed to the request and set a new date for the next hearing.

 This is the latest in a long line of delays that have kept the case from being settled for years.  In 2020, the case got steam when several Hindu groups and individuals sent petitions asking that the 1968 deal between the Shahi Idgah Masjid Committee and the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust be thrown out.

What led to the dispute

The area in question is about 13.37 acres and has historical value for both towns.  Petitioners from the Hindu faith say that the mosque was built by tearing down a temple that marked the birthplace of Lord Krishna during the reign of the Mughal prince Aurangzeb.  They say the deal made in 1968, which gave the mosque trust some land, was wrong.

Many civil suits have been made in different courts over the years. The Allahabad High Court later merged them all so that they could be heard by one judge.  These include calls for the mosque to be taken down, the temple to be fixed up, and all Islamic prayers to be stopped at the spot.

 What's Going To Happen?

The case is scheduled to resume on August 2, but its trajectory could be influenced by upcoming Supreme Court rulings. Given the religious and political sensitivity of the issue, any final verdict is expected to have wide-reaching implications.