Gyanvapi mosque case: Varanasi court likely to deliver its verdict today
AIMC and others had moved the petition challenging the maintainability of the original suit filed in the Varanasi district court in 1991, on grounds of maintainability and for being violative of the Places of Worship Act, 1991
A fast-track court in Varanasi today is likely to deliver its verdict on the maintainability of the Adi Visheshwar Virajman case and the plea seeking worship rights of the ‘Shivling’ that the Hindu side claimed to be found on the Gyanvapi mosque premises.
The court had adjourned the matter for November 14 during the last hearing on November 8.
The lawyers familiar with the case said the verdict that was expected on November 8 was deferred as the judge was on leave.
The case was filed by a Hindutva body– Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) in 2022, seeking a ban on the entry of Muslims on the Gyanvapi premises.
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The Muslim side is allowed to offer prayers on the premises till the matter is in court.
On October 27, during the last hearing in the matter, the fast-track court of civil judge (senior division) Mahendra Pandey reserved the judgement for the next hearing.
During the previous hearing, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) which looks after the Gyanvapi mosque challenged the maintainability of the suit filed.
AIMC and others had moved the petition challenging the maintainability of the original suit filed in the Varanasi district court in 1991, on grounds of maintainability and for being violative of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.
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The Hindu side had demanded carbon dating of the structure they claimed to be a ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi Mosque’s wazukhana.
However, the Muslim side challenged the order of the lower court in the matter of conducting a survey of the Gyanvapi complex from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The AIMC argued that since the mosque is registered as a waqf property, it was the waqf tribunal and not the civil court that had jurisdiction in the matter.
VVSS has also sought possession of the premises to worship the structure found earlier this year during a court-ordered survey. Hindu groups say it is a ‘Shivling’ but Muslim parties say it is a part of an old ceremonial fountain.
On April 8, 2021, a Varanasi court directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
