The Varanasi district court on Thursday fixed December 3 as the next date of hearing on a plea seeking replacement of the cloth tied over the sealed lock of the wazukhana (ablution area) inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex here.
Advocate Akhlaque Ahmad, counsel for the Anzuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC) that looks after the management of the Gyanvapi mosque, said the court fixed December 3 as the next date of hearing.
The plea for replacement of the cloth was filed on August 8 by advocate Rajesh Mishra, UP government’s special counsel for the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case, on behalf of the Varanasi administration. In response, the AIMC raised objections the same month.
During hearings on previous dates in the court of district judge Sanjeev Shukla, Mishra reiterated the torn cloth on the locks needed replacement due to wear and tear. He urged the court to pass an order accordingly.
Representing AIMC, advocates Akhlaque Ahmad and Raees Ansari opposed the plea, arguing that the wazukhana had been sealed by an order of the Supreme Court, and only the apex court could pass directions in the matter.
On November 10, the court of the district judge ordered both the parties to produce a copy of the order passed in the writ petition (civil) ‘Ashwini Kumar Upadhyaya Versus Union of India and others’.
{{/usCountry}}On November 10, the court of the district judge ordered both the parties to produce a copy of the order passed in the writ petition (civil) ‘Ashwini Kumar Upadhyaya Versus Union of India and others’.
{{/usCountry}}Both the parties were directed to explain their respective stands, Akhlaque Ahmad said.