Last Updated: February 26, 2024, 10:11 IST
Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee looks after the affairs of the Gyanvapi mosque, which is adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple (Image: PTI File)
A bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on February 15 reserved the judgment after a four-day hearing on the appeal filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee
In a big victory for the Hindu side, the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed the Gyanvapi Mosque committee’s appeal challenging the Varanasi district judge’s order allowing ‘Puja’ inside the ‘Vyas ka Tehkhana’ (southern cellar of the mosque). The court said there is no merit in the plea filed by the Muslim side.
A bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on February 15 reserved the verdict after a four-day hearing on the appeal filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC).
Muslim Side Plea In Allahabad HC
Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC), which looks after the affairs of the mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, had moved the high court on February 2, after the Supreme Court refused to urgently hear its plea against the Varanasi district court order allowing Puja in Vyas Ji ka Tehkhana, and asked it to approach the high court.
The Varanasi district court ruled on January 31 that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The mosque has four ‘tahkhanas’ (cellars) in the basement, of which one is still in the possession of the Vyas family, who used to live there.
The court directed the authorities to make arrangements for the worship of the idols by plaintiff Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas and a priest nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust within seven days.
Following the verdict, the puja was performed in the Gyanvapi compound earlier this month for the first time in three decades.
Gyanvapi Case
The court’s order followed a petition filed by Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas against the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee. According to the lawsuit, priest Somnath Vyas used to perform prayers there till 1993 when the cellar was closed by the authorities. Shailendra Kumar Pathak is the maternal grandson of Somnath Vyas.
On February 2, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the Muslim side’s plea to stay the Varanasi court’s January 31 order allowing the Hindu side to offer prayers in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque.
The high court had granted time until February 6 for the Masjid Committee to amend its pleas to include a challenge to a January 17 order consequent to which the January 31 order was passed.
The Court on February 12 heard an appeal moved by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee challenging the Varanasi District Court’s January 31 order allowing Hindus to perform prayers in the southern cellar of the mosque–Vyas Ji ka Tehkhana.
