Mathura : After nearly four years of legal battle, victory was finally achieved. Advocate Ranjana Agnihotri first filed a case in the Sri Krishna Janmasthan case on 25 September 2020. The case was dismissed by the Civil Judge Senior Division Court because it was not admissible for hearing. An appeal was made, the hearing proceeded.

After this, the hearing of all the cases reached the Allahabad High Court. The case which was dismissed earlier was considered maintainable. The silence over the agreement between Shri Krishna Janma Sthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee was broken in September 2020. Ranjana Agnihotri of Lucknow filed a case in the court of Civil Judge Senior Division through Supreme Court advocate Harishankar Jain and his son Vishnu Shankar Jain.

It was said that the agreement made in 1968 between Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee was wrong. It should be cancelled, and the land should be handed over to Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. The sudden filing of the suit after nearly 52 years of the agreement created a stir. It was seen as the first step in the movement to free the birthplace.

On September 30, the fifth day after the case was filed, the court dismissed it saying that the case was not worth hearing. Instead of being disappointed by the court's decision, Ranjana Agnihotri's advocate started preparing again. An appeal was filed in the court of the District Judge on 15 October 2020.

The case continued, and meanwhile, 18 cases were filed one after the other. Meanwhile, Ranjana Agnihotri reached the High Court and on 26 May 2023 all the cases were transferred to the High Court for hearing. After a 15-month hearing in the High Court, victory was finally achieved. The case which was dismissed has been considered maintainable.

The committee side kept saying repeatedly that the case is not worth hearing.

Regarding the maintainability of the cases related to Shri Krishna Janmasthan in the High Court, Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee says only one thing that no case is worth hearing. Argued that the Places of Worship Act 1991 says that there will be no tampering with the Places of Worship Act as it was on 15 August 1947. Filing a case so many years after the agreement in 1968 is also against the law.

The land belongs to Janmabhoomi Trust; the agreement was done by Seva Sangh.

The dispute between Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee is about the agreement made in the year 1968. In all the cases, it is said that 13.37 acres of land is in the name of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. On this land, Aurangzeb built Shahi Masjid Idgah in a part in 1669-70.

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust was formed in 1951. In 1968, a 10-point agreement was signed between Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh, the organization overseeing the trust's work, and the Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee. Cases have been filed against this agreement.

It has been said that when the land is in the name of the trust, then the Seva Sangh has no right to make a compromise. In such a case, the compromise should be cancelled. The Seva Sangh was only there to look after the arrangements of the birthplace. Which later got the name of Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan.

18 cases were filed

18 cases were filed in the local court in the Shri Krishna Janmasthan and Shahi Masjid Idgah case. Later all the cases were transferred to Allahabad High Court for hearing. The first case was filed on 26 September 2020, and the last case was filed by Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust on 11 August 2023. The entire land is owned by Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust, so it demanded its land back.

Name of the plaintiff - when filed

1. Ranjana Agnihotri, Advocate Lucknow-25 September 2020

2. Manish Yadav, President Narayani Sena- 15 December 2020

3. Mahendra Pratap Singh, Advocate Mathura - 23 December 2020

4. Pawan Shastri, Sevayat, Ancient Keshavdev Temple- 2 February 2021

5. Dinesh Chandra Sharma, Social Worker-2 March 2021

6. Anil Tripathi, Vice President, All India Hindu Mahasabha-31 March 2021

7. Jitendra Singh Visen, Farmer-7 September 2021

8. Gopal Giri Maharaj, Mahant-24-September 2021

9. Vishnu Gupta, National President Hindu Sena- 8 December 2022

10. Shailendra Singh, Advocate Lucknow - 20 February 2021

11. Dinesh Sharma, Social Worker- 13 September 2022

12. Mahendra Pratap Singh, Advocate- 23 December 2022

13. Ashutosh Pandey, Peethadheeswar Siddhapeeth Mata Shakumbhari 2 January 2023

14. Ajay Pratap Singh, Advocate - 12 April 2023

15. Naresh Yadav, Businessman-22 May 2023

16. Harishankar Jain, Advocate Supreme Court 23 May 2023

17. Surendra Gupta, Advocate Agra - 10 August 2023

18. Om Prakash Singhal, Trustee Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust- 11 August 2023

The temple side won every time in the nine cases that lasted for 137 years.

Earlier, cases occurred between Shri Krishna Janmasthan and Shahi Masjid Idgah for 137 years. The temple side won every time in the nine cases filed during these years. The first case was filed on 15 March 1832, and the ninth case was filed in 1965. In 1968, an agreement was reached between Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh and Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee. After this, the decision of the case going on in the court of Munsif Magistrate in 1965 came in 1969, even then the temple side won.

Plaintiff Ranjana Agnihotri said that our case was logical. We fought honestly. The High Court gave its verdict, rejecting all the Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee arguments. Today's verdict is a victory of justice. Now, very soon, we will win the case with our arguments and evidence.

Tanveer Ahmed, secretary of the Shahi Masjid Idgah Committee, said that the decision of the High Court is not fair. A case has been filed in the Supreme Court to get all the cases heard in the Mathura court, the hearing of which is on August 5. Meanwhile, the High Court has given its decision. We will appeal against it in the Supreme Court.