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Puja in Gyanvapi’s Vyas Tehkhana: Allahabad HC will continue to hear AIMC plea seeking stay on Feb 7
The Allahabad high court will continue to hear a petition challenging a Varanasi district court's order allowing Hindus to perform puja in a mosque.
The Allahabad high court will on Wednesday continue to hear a petition moved by the management committee of the Gyanvapi mosque challenging the Varanasi district court’s January 31 order which allowed Hindus to perform “puja” in Vyasji ka Tehkhana located in the southern cellar of the mosque located here.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal passed the order after hearing the parties concerned on Tuesday. The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC) had moved the petition on February 1, seeking a stay on the January 31 order of the Varanasi district court during the pendency of the petition.
Meanwhile, the AIMC has moved another petition challenging the January 17 order passed by the district judge Varanasi. This plea will be heard along with present petition.
On January 17, the Varanasi district court had appointed the district magistrate as the receiver, directing him to keep the cellar safe and not allow any change in it. This order was not challenged in the February 1 petition of the AIMC.
The court in its order passed in the other petition said, “Connect and put up as fresh along with First Appeal From Order Defective No.136 of 2024 tomorrow i.e. 07.02.2024 at 10 A.M.”
On February 2, Uttar Pradesh’s advocate general Ajay Mishra had given an undertaking that the administration will maintain law and order in pursuance of the Varanasi district judge’s order dated January 31, 2024.
On last occasion, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain appearing for Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas raised a preliminary objection regarding maintainability of appeal on the ground that the basic order dated January 17, 2024 had not been challenged.
Then senior advocate SFA Naqvi, appearing for the AIMC, submitted that he will be filing the amendment application amending the appeal and laying challenge to the order dated 17.01.2024 passed by the district judge, Varanasi.
The Varanasi district court on January 31, 2024 allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque. The court had directed the Varanasi district magistrate to make arrangements for “puja” to be performed by the Hindu side and a “Pujari” nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.
