Krishna Janmabhumi Row | Wrong Reporting Of Court Proceedings Would Amount To Contempt: Allahabad HC Directs Media To Observe Restraint

In the ongoing Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque dispute in Mathura, the Allahabad High Court has warned the media sternly regarding the irresponsible or incorrect reporting of court proceedings. The court emphasized that any such reporting, which misrepresents the proceedings or orders in the case, may prima facie amount to contempt of the Court. “…this Court expects that the Media people will observe due restraint while reporting the proceedings of this case and will maintain the dignity and sanctity of the Court's orders in this regard,” a bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra observed in its order. The single judge passed this order while hearing an application filed by the counsel in suit no. 18 of the entire dispute seeking restraint on incorrect reporting of the case in electronic and print media. It may be noted that the High Court is presently hearing several suits concerning the Mathura Krishna Janmabhumi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque dispute. In this dispute, a common prayer has been made seeking the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque from the 13.37-acre complex that it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev temple in Mathura. Additional prayers include seeking possession of the Shahi Idgah premises and demolishing the present structure. In May last year, the Allahabad High Court transferred to itself all the suits pending before the Mathura court, praying for various reliefs pertaining to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque dispute, allowing the transfer application filed by Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman and seven others. In January this year, a single judge directed the consolidation of 15 suits related to Mathura's Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute. The order was passed 'in the interest of justice' on an application filed by the Hindu plaintiffs under Order IV-A of the Civil Procedure Code. In August this year, the Allahabad High Court DISMISSED the Order 7 Rule 11 CPC petition filed by the Mathura-based Shahi Eidgah (mosque) committee challenging the maintainability of 18 suits filed by Hindu worshipers and deity Shri Krishna Virajman, in connection with the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah Mosque dispute in Mathura.AppearancesAdvocates Hari Shankar Jain, Mahendra Pratap Singh, Saurabh Tiwari, Reena N.Singh, through (Video Conferencing), Hare Ram Tripathi, Satyaveer Singh, Anil Kumar Singh, Manish Kumar, Naman Kishor Sharma, Mayank Singh, Arya Suman Pandey, Sandeep Kumar Agrahari, Bipin Kumar Jaiswal, Vinay Sharma, Ashutosh Pandey (in person), Jawahir Yadav, Radhey Shyam Yadav, Prabhash Pandey, Siddharth Srivastava, Ashvanee Kumar Srivastava, Rana Singh and Ashish Kumar Srivastava appeared for the plaintiffs.Advocate Deepika, on behalf of Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi (through video conferencing), along with Advocates Nasiruzzaman, Hare Ram Tripathi, Pranav Ojha, Manoj Kumar Singh, Afzal Ahmad, Tanveer Ahmad Khan, and Imran, appeared for the defendants.

Krishna Janmabhumi Row | Wrong Reporting Of Court Proceedings Would Amount To Contempt: Allahabad HC Directs Media To Observe Restraint

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