Buried idols of Lord Krishna in Agra: Notice to ASI to retrieve statues from under Jama Masjid stairs

A legal notice has been sent to the Archaeological Survey of India and Union of India, seeking that the idols of Lord Krishna removed from a temple in Mathura by Mughal emperor Auragnzeb and buried under the stairs of Jama Masjid in Agra, then capital of the Mughal empire in the 16th Century, be dug out. The notice has been sent by Mahendra Pratap Singh, a lawyer in Mathura and involved with the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi movement.

Interestingly, in a number of lawsuits he has filed on the issue, Singh has maintained that the said idols were buried in Agra Fort. In his notice dated June 2, 2022, he stated for the first time that the idols were in fact buried in the Agra Jama Masjid complex.

The notice, which must be served at least two months before the filing of a lawsuit, has been served under section 80 of Civil Procedure Code as required before proceeding against the Union of India or any state or against government department or public servant.

Mahendra Pratap Singh, had earlier filed a fresh petition in the court of the Mathura civil judge on May 27 seeking similar relief of return of the idols which were supposedly removed by Aurangzeb from the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi temple, demolished in Mathura in 1670 and allegedly placed below the stairs of the Begum Sahiba Mosque said to be near Deewan-e-Khas in the Agra Fort.

The case could not get registered after the court of civil judge (senior division) Mathura ‘returned’ the suit the same day because of non-compliance with the legal provision requiring service of notice before making the Union of India as party to any case and as laid under Section 80 of Civil Procedure Code.

Singh had earlier moved an application in another case (number 950 of 2020 – a title suit claiming that 13.37 acre of land of Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi) on April 1, 2021, in which he sought the return the idols which were supposedly removed by Aurangzeb from the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi temple in Mathura and allegedly placed below the stairs of the mosque, in Deewan-e-Khas, in the Agra Fort. The said application is still to be disposed of and will be taken up on July 1 in the court of civil judge (senior division), Mathura.

However, with civil work remaining suspended during summer vacation of June, Singh today sent notice under section 80 of CPC to Union of India, Archaeological Survey of India offices at Agra, Delhi and Mathura as self and on behalf of litigants Shyamanand Pandit aka Shiv Saran Awasthi and Manmohan Dass, a Krishna follower, in Mathura.

“A temple of Keshav Dev (Krishna) used to exist in a vast area of 13.37 acre in Mathura. Mughal emperor Aurangzeb demolished the temple in 1670 and raised a structure at the same place, which is now known as the Shahi Eidgah mosque,” Singh claimed.

“Many historians and writers have mentioned that Aurangzeb got various idols, including that of Lord Krishna, buried under the stairs of the mosque known as Begum Sahiba Ki Masjid or Qudasia Begum Mosque also known as Jama Masjid in Agra, near Agra Fort. The said Jama Masjid was built by Jahan Ara, sister of Aurangzeb, at a cost of ₹5 lakh and is under the control and supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India, which is now required to dig out these idols shifted to Jama Masjid,” said Singh, who earlier had maintained that said mosque was in Agra Fort.

“We seek stopping movement of visitors on these stairs under which idols are buried and dig out these idols and hand it over to Temple Thakur Keshav Dev, owner of Sri Krishna Janambhoomi land,” added Singh.