Prayagraj, Aug 1: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday ruled that the trial in 18 cases related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura can continue, dismissing a petition filed by the mosque committee that challenged the maintainability of these suits.

Justice Mayank Kumar Jain had on June 6 reserved his judgment on the plea moved by the Muslim side. The court has now fixed August 12 as the date for framing of issues.

The suits filed by Hindu litigants seek "removal" of the Shahi Idgah mosque adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.

The petitions claim that the Aurangazeb-era mosque was built after the demolition of a temple that marked the spot where Lord Krishna was born.

But the mosque management committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board argued that the suits were barred under Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits changing the religious status of any shrine from what existed on the day of the country's Independence.

However, the 1991 law had exempted the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from its purview.

Hindu side counsel Vishnu Shankar Jain told reporters that with the dismissal of the plea challenging maintainability, the high court will continue to hear all related cases on the temple-mosque issue.

Jain also said the Hindu side will now move the Supreme Court asking it to vacate its stay on an earlier Allahabad High Court order that had allowed a survey of the mosque.

The Hindu side claims the mosque holds signs suggesting that it was a temple once.

On May 31, the Allahabad High Court reserved its judgment on the maintainability plea after hearing both sides.

However, the court reopened the hearing at the request of Shahi Idgah counsel Mehmood Pracha. The judgment was finally reserved on June 6.

In several ways, the Mathura dispute mirrors the legal tussle in Varanasi, where the Gyanvapi mosque and the Kashi Vishwanath temple are located next to each other.

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Pune, Feb 10 (PTI): Amidst high drama, former Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant’s son Rishiraj was brought back to Pune along with two friends on late Monday evening, cutting short their trip to Bangkok, hours after police filed a kidnapping case, officials said.

According to Ranjan Kumar Sharma, joint commissioner of police, Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok without informing his family, but an anonymous phone call spoilt their travel plans.

After police registered a kidnapping case following the anonymous call made to the control room, his whereabouts were traced and he was brought back to Pune along with his friends, he said at a hurriedly convened press conference.

"Our police control room received a call around 4 pm in which an anonymous caller informed us that Rishiraj was taken away by some unidentified people. Accordingly, we swung into action and registered a kidnapping offence.

"During the probe, it was revealed Rishiraj along with his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok. We tracked the flight and contacted the airline for the aircraft's return. The flight has now returned to Pune with three passengers, including Rishiraj," informed Sharma.

"We will enquire and find out the purpose of his trip to Bangkok and why he did not inform the family about his travel plans," the police officer said.

While replying to a question, Tanaji Sawant, who was present at the police briefing, denied any dispute with his son.

According to police sources, the flight to the Thailand capital was booked for Rs 78 lakh.

The former minister said he contacted police after coming to know his son had left for the airport with friends without informing the family.

A week ago, Rishiraj Sawant had gone to Dubai, but this trip was known to family members, said the senior politician.

Asked about the police machinery going into an overdrive to trace his son and bring him back, the former minister maintained was worried as a father.

Joint commissioner of police Sharma said the anonymous call indicated Rishiraj Sawant was taken away by unidentified people and on that basis, an FIR of kidnapping was registered.

The IPS officer opined that in such cases, things do not proceed unless an FIR is registered and that is why police moved quickly and filed an offence.