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Court reserves Gyanvapi mosque order till September 12
The Shringar Gauri- Gyanvapi case was filed by five women, including Rakhi Singh last year in August, seeking permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Gyanvapi complex.
The Varanasi district court on Wednesday reserved its judgment till September 12 on the plea by Anzuman Intezamia Committee (AIMC) challenging the maintainability of the Gyanvapi mosque case as both Hindu and Muslim side completed their arguments in the case.
The lawyers for AIMC presented their counter- arguments before the court of district judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha, stating that the mosque in Varanasi is registered as a Waqf and, therefore, the civil court has no jurisdiction to hear the case. It is the waqf tribunal alone that has the jurisdiction to hear the matter, the lawyers said.
Hari Shanker Jain, another lawyer for the Hindu side, said the Muslim side showed waqf documents of Alamgir masjid (mosque) and not of Gyanvapi mosque. “The lawyer for the Muslim side repeated old statements before the court,” Jain said.
The advocate representing the Muslim side also told the court that in 1992, after an agreement between the Uttar Pradesh government and the Waqf Board, a part of the Gyanvapi complex was converted into a police control room. At the time of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the state government took some land of the Gyanvapi mosque and provided land at another place in lieu of it, he said.
“This proves that the Gyanvapi mosque is a Waqf property,” he told the court.
Yadav had claimed that the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee told the court that in 1669, Aurangzeb demolished the temple and built a mosque at the site. “Today in India, when there is the rule of ‘sanatani’ people, the mosques that were built after demolishing temples should be handed over to the ‘sanatani’ people,” he said.
Earlier during the hearing on August 23, the AIMC counsel had also submitted proof of the Gyanvapi mosque being a Waqf Board registered as number 100 property, in the court. They also cited orders issued in the years 1944 and 1936 stating that the site was property of the Waqf Board.
The case is being heard by the district court following a Supreme Court order. Earlier, a lower court had ordered a video survey of the complex. The survey work was completed on May 16 and the report was presented in the court on May 19. The Hindu side claimed in the lower court that a Shivling was found during the survey in complex, which was contested by the Muslim side.
The Shringar Gauri- Gyanvapi case was filed by five women, including Rakhi Singh last year in August, seeking permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Gyanvapi complex. Senior advocate Hari Shanker Jain and Vishnu Shanker Jain, along with Sudhir Tripathi and others, were present from the Hindu side.
