Shringar Gauri case: Allahabad HC to continue hearing on Nov 4

The district judge, Varanasi, had on September 12 dismissed the AIM’s plea challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by the five Hindu plaintiffs in August last year

The Allahabad high court will on Friday continue hearing of a civil revision petition filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM), which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, challenging the Varanasi district court order by which it had rejected the AIM’s objection to maintainability of the suit filed by five Hindu women seeking permission to worship Shringar Gauri and other deities whose idols are located on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque.

The revision petition has been filed challenging the September 12 order on the ground that the suit before the court is barred under the Places of Worship Act, 1991. (For Representation)

Justice JJ Munir fixed November 4, 2022, as the next date of hearing in the case. The district judge, Varanasi, had on September 12, 2022 dismissed the AIM’s plea filed under Order 7 Rule 11 of Civil Procedure Code (CPC), challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by the five Hindu plaintiffs in August last year.

While rejecting the AIM plea, the district judge, Varanasi, had observed that the suit of the plaintiffs (five Hindu women) was not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, the Waqf Act 1995, and the UP Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983, as was being claimed by the AIM.

The revision petition has been filed challenging the September 12 order on the ground that the suit before the court is barred under the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which provides that no suit can be filed seeking conversion of any religious place as existed on August 15, 1947.