A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked the parties to file their submission in the matter by the first fortnight of April, when the case will be heard next
New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday extended till April its earlier order that put in abeyance a survey of the Shahi Eidgah mosque abutting the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura by an advocate-commissioner.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked the parties to file their submission in the matter by the first fortnight of April, when the case will be heard next.
“List the matter in the first half of April 2024. In the meantime, pleadings will be completed by the parties. Interim order to continue,” the bench stated in its brief order, extending the operation of its January 16 order.
On the next date of hearing, the top court will also take up a batch of petitions challenging the high court order deciding to hear nearly 18 suits relating to Krishna Janmasthan-Shahi Eidgah land dispute by transferring them to itself from various civil courts in Mathura.
Observing that the plea made by the Hindu side for the survey was “very vague”, and that some important legal issues also arise in the matter, the bench on January 16 stayed the Allahabad high court order of December 14 for the appointment of an advocate-commissioner to oversee the survey of the mosque.
On the day, the bench was emphatic that the plea of the Hindu plaintiffs did not specify the rationale behind the plea. “You cannot say that appoint a commissioner in terms of the prayers in the plaint. You must be specific about what exactly you are asking for. Can an application be made like this? We have reservations about the application. It’s so vague…You cannot make an omnibus application like this,” the court told the counsel appearing for the Hindu plaintiffs in the case at the time.
The court further said that apart from the questions over the application for the appointment of an advocate-commissioner, legal issues over passing an interim order without rendering a prima facie satisfaction regarding the maintainability of the suit also arose in the case.