E-Paper
Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi matter: Hearing to continue in Varanasi dist court
The case was filed by five Hindu women petitioners in August 2021 seeking permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri sthal in Gyanvapi complex
A lawyer for petitioner number 1 Rakhi Singh in Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case on Monday argued that the then Uttar Pradesh government had stopped daily worshipping at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Gyanvapi complex in 1993. To stop the daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri sthal, a barricading was done.
“The case filed by five women petitioners in August 2021 seeking permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri sthal is titled as Rakhi Singh and others vs State of U.P, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee and others,” said advocate Maan Bahadur Singh, one of the lawyers of petitioner number 1 Rakhi Singh, adding the five petitioners have sought permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal.
Advocates Shivam Gaur, Anupam Dwivedi and senior advocate Maan Bahadur Singh presented their arguments against Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s (AIMC) plea challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by the five Hindu women.
Maan Bahadur Singh, advocate for the petitioner Rakhi Singh, said worship took place at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal daily till 1993. The then state government had stopped daily worshipping at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in Gyanvapi Complex in 1993. The daily worship was stopped by installing a barricading around it, he added. “Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had demolished the temple. This is a historical fact. This fact is an important evidence,” argued Singh.
Advocate Shivam Gaur said the condition for once-a-year worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal was imposed in 1993. Since then, the worship there was done once a year every year, he said. “So, the Places of Worship Act, 1991, is not applicable to Maa Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case since worship was taking place daily at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal till 1993,” Gaur argued.
He also said the Waqf Act was not applicable as case was about worship not land. After hearing the arguments, the Varanasi district court fixed July 19 (Tuesday) as the next date of hearing, said Gaur. “We will continue to present our arguments,” he added. District government counsel Mahendra Prasad Pandey and advocates for the AIMC were among those present during the hearing.
