On Friday, the Supreme Court denied an appeal against an order from the Allahabad High Court dismissing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to direct the Uttar Pradesh government to purchase the Krishna Jahmabhoomi Janmasthan in Mathura and give it to the Hindu community to worship Lord Krishna.
“The high court is currently considering the matter. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta dismissed the appeal against the high court’s October 11, 2023 order, saying, “Let’s not have multiplicity of litigation.”
The high court dismissed the PIL because suits are still pending, according to the petitioner Mahek Maheshwari’s attorney.
“The SLP is dismissed because we have no intention of meddling with the challenged decision. We make clear that the SLP’s dismissal does not restrict or prohibit any party from contesting the legality of any enactment, nor does it address the right of parties to do so,” the bench ruled.
As a devoted Hindu, Maheshwari had stated in his PIL that he prayed for the protection and facilitation of his fundamental right to worship. In his PIL before the high court, he claimed that the state government ought to purchase the actual location of Krishna Jahmabhoomi Janmasthan, which is currently occupied by the Shahi Idgah Mosque, and give it to the Hindu community so that they can worship Lord Krishna Virajman there.
The state government’s legal representative had resisted the PIL, arguing that it was not in the public interest and that the petitioner’s claims to be a devoted Hindu and follower of Krishna made it a personal cause.
According to PTI, the high court said, “The suits (pending before the high court) are for declaration, injunction and right to worship at the site of Shri Krishna Janmasthan and also for removal of the structure alleged to be the Shahi Idgah Mosque. The pending suits involve the issues relating to the interpretation of various facts of statutes, constitutional law, personal law and common law. Since the issues involved in the present writ (PIL) are already engaging the attention of the Court in appropriate proceedings (i.e. the pending suits), we are not inclined to entertain the instant writ (PIL) and the same is accordingly dismissed,” it ordered.
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