The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea of the Anjuman Intezamia Committee, which represents the Muslim side in the Gyanvapi Shrinagar Gauri case, challenging the maintainability of the Hindu side's case.
The Hindu worshippers requested permission for daily worship of Hindu deities in the Gyanvapi mosque. The high court has rejected the mosque committee's challenge to the 5 Hindu women worshippers' suit pending before the Varanasi court.
Last year in December, the bench of Justice J.J. Munir reserved its judgment after hearing counsel for both parties at length. With this, the court has upheld the September 12, 2022 order of the Varanasi court, holding the said suit to be maintainable.
The Masjid Committee had moved the High Court in October 2022, days after the Varanasi court dismissed its plea (filed under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC) challenging the maintainability of a suit filed by five Hindu women (plaintiffs) seeking worshipping rights in the Gyanvapi compound.
In the order, Varanasi District Judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesha had observed that the suit of the plaintiffs is not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, The Waqf Act 1995, and the U.P. Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983 as was being claimed by the Anjuman Masjid Committee (which manages Gyanvapi Masjid).
What's Gyanvapi row?
The Gyanvapi row is a longstanding dispute surrounding the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi, located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Some Hindu groups claim that the Gyanvapi Mosque was built over the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple.
The Muslim organizations and scholars assert that the mosque has been in existence since the 17th century and should be preserved. The legal battle over the Gyanvapi Mosque has been ongoing for many years.
In 1991, a civil suit was filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking the removal of the mosque and the construction of a temple in its place. However, in 2005, the court dismissed the suit, ruling that the mosque was a valid place of worship for Muslims and should be protected.
The issue gained renewed attention in 2019 when a petition was filed in the Varanasi district court seeking permission for a survey of the site by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to determine if there are any remnants of a temple beneath the mosque. The court initially allowed the survey, but in 2021, it stayed the order, preventing the survey from taking place.
(With inputs from IANS)
