Security beefed up at disputed Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah amid ‘Kar Seva’ concerns, Mathura officials tell Allahabad HC

A view of the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple and Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. File | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy The Mathura administration recently informed the Allahabad High Court that security arrangements were made at the disputed Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah premises amid concerns of ‘Kar Seva’.‘Kar seva’ was called by Hindu religious leaders in Mathura for voluntary action to “liberate” the Krishna Janmabhoomi site.The High Court bench of Justice Avnish Saxena, during the hearing of the Original Suit No. 4 of 2023, filed by the Shri Krishna Janmbhoomi Mukti Nirmaan Trust and others against the Shahi Masjid Eidgah Management Committee and others, noted that the court had received a report from the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mathura, in a sealed cover.“This Court has gone through the report and considered that the arrangements have been made by the administration pertaining to the alleged ‘Kar Seva’ and for keeping security at the premises. The report is classified and therefore, again kept in sealed cover,” the court order of August 25 stated.The report had originally been called for by the High Court on July 17, after a plaintiff filed an application asking the Court to direct the State Government and local administration to prevent any individual or group from entering the disputed site to hold meetings, perform Kar Seva, or organise events that might disturb public peace.The application was filed by Ashutosh Maharaj, who says he heads the Sri Krishna Janmbhumi Mukti Nirman Trust (Registered), Mathura, through his counsel, Advocate Reena N. Singh.The Allahabad High Court is presently hearing 18 suits, clubbed together in 2023, that seek the removal of the Shahi Idgah, which they claim is an encroachment on the premises of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura, known as the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna. The plea alleged that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb demolished the Krishna temple and constructed the Shahi Idgah mosque over it.A 1968 compromise agreement between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan (the temple’s management body) and the Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah had permitted both religious sites to function together.That agreement is now being contested in the newer suits, with litigants arguing it was fraudulently obtained and legally invalid, and seeking removal of the mosque on the basis of their claimed right to worship there.In December 2023, the High Court approved a plea for a court commissioner to inspect the Shahi Idgah mosque, but the Supreme Court stayed that order in January 2024, and the stay has since been extended.On August 12, 2026, the Supreme Court signalled orally that it intends to send the matter back to the Allahabad High Court, since notice had not been given to all plaintiffs before a decision was made on who would represent devotees of Lord Krishna.The matter will now be heard on September 18, 2026. Published - August 27, 2026 03:58 pm IST