During the hearing, a bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna orally observed: “The application for the appointment of local commissioner is very vague… Don’t implement the order till the next date.”

“Let the commission not be executed. Look at the prayer of your application. The prayer to appoint a commission ‘in the light of the averment made in the suit’ is very vague. You have to make a very specific prayer. You have to be very clear what you want the local commission for. You cannot make an omnibus application,” Justice Khanna added.

In its interim order, the bench, also comprising Dipankar Datta, said that the commission will not be executed but trial proceedings pending before the High Court can continue.

Issuing notice on the special leave petition moved by the Shahi Idgah Masjid Management Committee, the apex court asked the other side to file their reply by January 23.

The matter will be heard on the next date of listing along with another plea filed by the mosque committee challenging the transfer of cases by the high court to itself.

On December 14, 2023, the Allahabad High Court allowed the application filed by Hindu devotees for appointment of commissioner to inspect the disputed premise.

A bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain of the High Court had said, “So far as the modalities and composition of the commission is concerned, this Court feels it proper to hear the learned counsel for the parties for such purposes.”

The decision came in response to an application filed by the deity Bhagwan Shri Krishna Virajman and seven others claiming that Lord Sri Krishna’s birthplace lies beneath the mosque and appointment of a commission was essential to unearth the truth.

The application said that there are visible signs of the mosque being a Hindu temple, including a lotus-shaped pillar and an image of Sheshnaag, a Hindu deity associated with Lord Krishna.