The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to immediately entertain a plea seeking permission for Hindu devotees to perform religious rituals during the upcoming month of Shravan at the sealed area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi, observing that “this is not the right time” and asking the petitioners to wait.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, made the observation when advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for one of the Hindu plaintiffs, sought urgent interim relief to permit limited worship at the disputed site, where the Hindu side claims a Shivling exists while the mosque committee maintains that the structure is part of a fountain in the mosque’s wazukhana (ablution tank).
“This is not the right time...wait for some time,” the bench told Jain, while adjourning the plea by two weeks. Shravan, regarded as the most auspicious month dedicated to Lord Shiva, begins on July 30.
To be sure, Hindu devotees are already performing prayers at the southern basement chamber of the complex after a court order in 2024.
Jain submitted that the holy month of Shravan holds special religious significance for devotees of Lord Shiva and urged the court to permit regulated worship, assuring that the applicants would abide by any conditions the court deemed appropriate.
{{/usCountry}}Jain submitted that the holy month of Shravan holds special religious significance for devotees of Lord Shiva and urged the court to permit regulated worship, assuring that the applicants would abide by any conditions the court deemed appropriate.
{{/usCountry}}The application, filed by Laxmi Devi and three other Hindu plaintiffs in the pending proceedings arising out of the Gyanvapi dispute, sought permission to perform pooja, darshan, jalabhishek and other customary religious observances at the disputed site during the month of Shravan. The applicants contended that the relief was limited in nature and could be regulated through appropriate security protocols and timing restrictions.
The application said Shravan occupies a unique place in Hindu religious tradition, with devotees across the country performing special prayers and offering water and bilva patra to Lord Shiva throughout the month. It argued that permitting regulated worship would balance the interests of all parties while preserving the religious sentiments of millions of devotees. The applicants further undertook to comply with any restrictions or safeguards imposed by the court and asserted that the relief sought was consistent with the guarantee of religious freedom under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The area in question has remained sealed since May 2022 under orders of the Supreme Court after a court-appointed survey of the mosque complex. While the Hindu side claims that a Shivling was discovered during the survey, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee disputes the assertion, maintaining that the structure forms part of a fountain in the ablution tank. The Supreme Court had then directed that the disputed area be protected while allowing Muslims to continue offering namaz in the remaining portions of the mosque.
The long-running Gyanvapi dispute centres on claims by Hindu litigants that the mosque was constructed after the demolition of a pre-existing Kashi Vishwanath temple during the Mughal period. Multiple suits pending before courts seek the right to worship within parts of the mosque complex and challenge the applicability of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The mosque committee, on the other hand, maintains that the mosque is protected under the 1991 law and contests the maintainability of the suits.
The Supreme Court is presently seized of the mosque committee’s appeal against an Allahabad high court order that permitted a scientific investigation of the sealed area by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). An interim stay granted by the top court on the implementation of that direction continues to remain in force.
Separately, the Allahabad high court is seized of a civil revision petition filed by Hindu plaintiff Rakhi Singh seeking an ASI survey of the wazukhana area, excluding the disputed structure claimed by the Hindu side to be a Shivling and by the Muslim side to be a fountain.