A fresh petition was filed in a Mathura court on Tuesday seeking the presence of Archaeological Survey of India officials during the survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque, reported PTI.
On December 24, a civil court in Mathura had ordered a survey of the mosque while hearing a plea filed by Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta, who claimed that the site of the mosque is the birthplace of Hindu deity Krishna. The court has ordered the survey report to be submitted by January 20.
The fresh plea in the case has been filed by treasurer of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha Dinesh Sharma.
“An officer of Archaeological Survey of India can assist amin [revenue department official] in identifying marks etc present in Shahi Masjid Idgah properly,” Deepak Sharma, counsel for the petitioner told PTI.
Meanwhile, the Shahi Idgah mosque committee on January 2 filed its objection against the survey order. The objection was filed since the panel had not been presented with a copy of the petition, or heard before the order was passed or was notified about it, counsel and secretary of the Shahi Idgah management committee Tanveer Ahmed had told the Economic Times.
In his petition, Gupta has staked claim to over 13.37 acres of land around the mosque and has sought demolition of the structure. Gupta’s plea is one of the several applications filed before the court seeking the demolition of the Shahi Idgah mosque. Some have also sought a ban on Muslims praying at the mosque.
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