Gyanvapi Masjid Committee seeks early hearing in Supreme Court against order allowing Hindu prayers inside mosque

The Gyanvapi Masjid Committee has moved an application for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court against Varanasi court order directing the District Magistrate to have pooja performed in the sealed southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque..Amid the ongoing court dispute over the religious character of the property that houses the Gyanvapi mosque, a district court in Varanasi had on January 30, directed a receiver to allow Hindu parties to offer prayers and puja in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque. The district court order in effect allows worship rights to Hindus in a part of the Mosque. The Masjid Committee has sought to challenge the same before the Supreme Court through an urgent application.The letter for extreme urgency filed before the Supreme Court Registrar stated that, "It is submitted that under the garb of the order dated 31.01.2024, the local administration, in hot haste, has deployed a massive police force on site and is in the process of cutting the grills located in the southern side of the mosque so as to create an entrance therefrom into the mosque premises to allow puja in the basement of the mosque. This action is against the letter and spirit of the orders passed by this Hon’ble Court on 17.05.2022 and 20.05.2022 in SLP (C) No. 9388/2022.".However, the Registrar on instructions is said to have informed the Muslim party that it should move the Allahabad High Court instead.The letter before the top court argued that there was no reason for the administration to undertake the task in hot haste in the dead of the night as the order passed by the trial court had already given them one week to make the necessary arrangements."The obvious reason for such unseemly haste is that the administration in collusion with the plaintiffs is trying to foreclose any attempt by the Mosque Managing Committee to avail of their remedies against the said order by presenting them with a fait accompli," read the letter of extreme urgency..On Wednesday, the Varanasi court in its order had directed that proper arrangements have to be made in the area and puja is to be performed by a priest nominated by the Kashi Vishwanath Trust Board. For this purpose, fencing may also be erected within seven days, the Varanasi Court had directed.That verdict came in response to a plea by Hindu plaintiffs seeking worship rights in the 'tehkhana' (basement) of the disputed land housing the Gyanvapi Mosque.Worship has been permitted in the tehkhana (basement) inside the Gyanvapi Mosque premises. Worship at this spot was stopped in 1993..Meanwhile, the Hindu parties have filed a caveat before the Allahabad High Court in anticipation of any challenge against the district court order. .Gyanvapi - Kashi Vishwanath case: Hindu parties move Supreme Court seeking ASI survey of 'Shivling'.It is their argument that worship activities were earlier conducted in the basement by Somenath Vyas and his family until November 1993.They have further claimed that the government of the time led by Mulayam Singh Yadav had prohibited worship in that space after November 1993.In the main suit, the Hindu side has argued that a section of the temple was destroyed during the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. They have sought right to worship inside the structure. On the other hand, the Muslim side has maintained that the mosque predates Aurangzeb's reign and has also asserted that it has endured various alterations over time..On a related note, the Allahabad High Court had on January 31 issued notice to the Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee (Muslim side) and sought its response to a plea filed by a Hindu party seeking an ASI survey of the wuzukhana region within the Mosque premises.Notably, the ASI had already conducted a comprehensive scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex excluding the wuzukhana. The ASI also submitted its survey report to the Varanasi district court asserting that an ancient Hindu Temple existed at the site before the construction of the Gyanvapi Mosque..[Read Letter].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.