Mathura court moved for removal of mosque from within Lord Krishna temple premises
Mathura: A group of devout Hindus has moved a Mathura civil court here for removal of a mosque allegedly built on orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70 at the exact birthplace of Lord Sri Krishna within the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple in the holy city.
The petition filed in the court of Mathura Senior Civil Judge Chhaya Sharma on Friday has also demanded the annulment of a 1968 Mathura court ruling, ratifying a land deal reached between the Shree Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and Shahi Idgah Management Committee, perpetuating the existence of the mosque within the temple premises.
The petition was filed by Lucknow resident Ranjana Agnihotri and five others, including Delhi resident Parvesh Kumar, Rajesh Mani Tripathi of Siddharth Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Karunesh Kumar Shukla of Basti, and Shivaji Singh and Tripurari Tiwari, both of Lucknow.
Agnihotri, 51, has also moved the court as the next friend of both the deities, Sri Krishna Virajman and the Asthan Shrikrishna Janam Bhoomi, Katra Keshav Dev, claiming both to be juristic persons, liable to be represented in courts by their next friends , if the temple 'shebaits' fail to move court to protect deities rights and interests.
The petitioners have arrayed four organizations as the respondents in their plea. They include the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Committee of Management of the Shahi Masjid Idgah, the 17th-century mosque existing within the temple premises.
The two other bodies which have been arrayed as respondents are Shree Krishna Janambhoomi Trust, Mathura and Shree Krishna Janm Sthan Sewa Sansthan through their respective secretaries.
The petitioners made the two temple bodies as respondents arguing that they have failed to protect the interests of the deities.
On the timing of the moving court, the petitioners have asserted that the cause of action against the continuing wrong has been accruing every day and it last accrued on January 15, 2020, when the plaintiffs had visited Mathura to pay their obeisance to Lord Krisna and were shocked to see a mosque existing right within the temple.
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Trump administration says its war in Iran has been 'terminated' before 60-day deadline
Washington (AP): The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb 28 have terminated.” The official said the US military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran's oil tankers from getting out to sea.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the law that sought to constrain a president's military powers, President Donald Trump had until Friday to seek congressional authorisation or cease fighting. The law also allows an administration to extend that deadline by 30 days.
Democrats have pushed the administration for formal approval of the Iran war, and the 60-day mark would likely have been a turning point for a swath of Republican lawmakers who backed temporary action against Tehran but insisted on congressional input for something longer.
“That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement,” said Sen Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted Thursday in favour of a measure that would end military action in Iran since Congress hadn't given its approval. She added that “further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close."
Richard Goldberg, who served as director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction for the National Security Council during Trump's first term, said he has recommended to administration officials to simply transition to a new operation, which he suggested could be called “Epic Passage,” a sequel to Operation Epic Fury.
That new mission, he said, “would inherently be a mission of self-defence focused on reopening the strait while reserving the right to offensive action in support of restoring freedom of navigation.”
“That to me solves it all,” added Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.
During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hegseth said it was the administration's “understanding” that the 60-day clock was on pause while the two countries were in a ceasefire.
Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program and an expert on war powers, said that interpretation would be a “sizeable extension of previous legal gamesmanship” related to the 1973 law.
“To be very, very clear and unambiguous, nothing in the text or design of the War Powers Resolution suggests that the 60-day clock can be paused or terminated,” she said.
Other presidents have argued that the military action they've taken was not intense enough or was too intermittent to qualify under the War Powers Resolution. But Trump's war in Iran would certainly not be such a case, Ebright said, adding that lawmakers need to push back against the administration on that kind of argument.
