The Allahabad High Court on Thursday accepted a batch of petitions seeking the appointment of a court-monitored advocate commissioner to survey the Shahi Eidgah premises adjoining the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

The court said the petitions will be heard on December 18.

The single bench of Justice Mayank Jain approved the survey on the petition of the Hindu side on the maintainability of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi case and the application regarding appointing the court commissioner.

The bench gave its verdict on a batch of 18 civil suits, the hearing of which was completed on November 16, and the judgment was reserved.

Objections were raised to the maintainability of the suit under the Places of Worship Act by the Sunni Central Waqf Board and Shahi Idgah Arrangement Committee.

The Hindu side’s lawyer, Vishnu Shankar Jain, called the court’s decision “historic”. He said the Shahi Idgah Mosque has many signs and symbols of the Hindu temple, and a survey is necessary to know the real situation.

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Nyas chairman Mahendra Pratap Singh alleged that the Idgah was destroying evidence by playing with the architecture of Lord Krishna’s birthplace.

Shahi Idgah Mosque is adjacent to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex in Mathura city. On October 12, 1968, the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan entered into an agreement with the Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust. The agreement provided for the construction of both temple and mosque on 13.37 acres of land.

Of this land, 10.9 acres is near Lord Krishna’s birthplace and 2.5 acres of land is near Shahi Idgah Mosque. In this agreement, the Muslim side gave up some of its occupied land for the temple and in return the Muslim side was given some land nearby. Now the Hindu side is demanding possession of the entire 13.37 acres of land.

It is being claimed that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb destroyed the ancient Keshavnath temple built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna and constructed the Shahi Idgah Mosque at the same place in 1669-70. In 1770, there was a war between the Mughals and the Marathas in Govardhan. The Marathas won and rebuilt the temple.

In 1935, the Allahabad High Court allotted 13.37 acres of land to Raja Krishna Das of Banaras. In 1951, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust acquired this land.