The Supreme Court has indicated that it may not address all aspects of the ongoing Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah mosque dispute. Instead, certain issues could potentially be addressed through an intra-court appeal before a division bench of the Allahabad High Court.
On Tuesday, a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and PV Sanjay Kumar suggested that instead of escalating the matter directly to the Supreme Court, an appeal might be more appropriately taken up by the high court’s division bench. The bench further clarified that the appeal should be remitted to the high court to address previous rulings made by a single judge, who deemed the trials in 18 suits related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute as maintainable.
Representing the Shahi Eidgah Mosque committee, Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi argued against the intra-court appeal, contending that the high court’s decision involved superintendence, which she believed should prevent further appeals within the high court's jurisdiction.
However, the Supreme Court bench disagreed with Ahmadi’s assertion, noting that the high court was acting in an original capacity and that an intra-court appeal might be available against the August 1 order from the single judge bench. The court directed Ahmadi to review specific provisions under the Allahabad High Court rules and submit a note regarding the maintainability of the case before the Supreme Court.
The matter is scheduled for a further hearing in two weeks, with the Supreme Court bench emphasizing that an appeal to the high court's division bench could be the preferred course of action, rather than prematurely escalating the matter to the top court.
