LI Network
Published on: February 15, 2024 at 15:40 IST
The Allahabad High Court has deferred its decision on the Gyanvapi Mosque committee’s appeal against the Varanasi Court’s January 31st order permitting ‘Puja’ (worship) in the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ (southern cellar of the Mosque). The judgment was reserved after a four-day hearing involving both parties.
The Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee, responsible for managing the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, filed the appeal on February 1st, following the Supreme Court’s refusal to urgently address the Mosque Committee’s plea against the order allowing puja in Vyas Ji ka Tehkhana.
The Committee contends that the Vyas Tehkhana is under their possession as part of the Mosque premises, asserting that the Vyas family or others have no right to worship within the Tehkhana.
They argue that the absence of puja in the Tehkhana since 1993 should be considered, and the Court’s decision to appoint a receiver and alter the status quo after 30 years requires a valid reason.
In response, counsels for the Hindu plaintiff, Advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, support the Varanasi District Judge’s January 31st order, emphasizing that the Hindu ‘Puja-Path’ in the Tehkhana has never ceased, even after 1993 when the CRPF assumed control.
The underlying dispute revolves around the ‘Somnath Vyas’ Tehkhana inside the Gyanvapi Mosque premises, where religious ceremonies allegedly took place until 1993.
The Varanasi District Judge’s January 31st order allowed the worship of Hindu deities in the Vyas Tehkhana, appointing the district magistrate as the receiver.
Following the court’s directive, Varanasi District Magistrate MS Rajalingam, accompanied by government officials, entered the mosque complex on January 31st to oversee the compliance with the order.
The Varanasi District administration had previously assumed possession of the southern cellar on January 24, 2023, based on the District Judge’s earlier order on January 17.
The Mosque committee has contested this order and brought the matter before the High Court.