The Allahabad High Court, in remarkable
judgement, dismissed all petitions challenging a civil suit that seeks
restoration of a temple by the mosque committee in the Gyanvapi case. The court
directed the Varanasi court to complete hearing in the matter within six
months.
The case relates to Gyanvapi mosque, situated
next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.
A group of Hindu women had approached an
Uttar Pradesh court in 2021 for permission to worship deities in Gyanvapi
complex. A lower court then asked the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct
a video survey of the complex.
The high court was hearing five
petitions – three from the Gyanvapi mosque committee and two from Uttar Pradesh
Sunni Central Waqf Board.
Three of these petitions challenged the
maintainability of a suit filed before the Varanasi court in 1991. The 1991
suit, filed on behalf of deity Adi Vishveswar Virajman, had argued that
Gyanvapi dispute pre-dated Independence and will not come under the Places of
Worship Act, which ensures maintenance of the religious character of places of
worship.
The mosque committee had challenged this
suit. The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board
had argued that the 1991 suit is prohibited by the Places of Worship Act
(Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which restricts altering the character of a
religious places as it existed on August 15, 1947.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said the
suit filed in 1991 before a Varanasi court is maintainable and not barred by
the Places of Religious Worship Act, 1991. Justice Agarwal had on December 8
reserved its judgment after hearing the counsels of the petitioners and the
respondent.
NE Watch Desk
