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Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque case on Friday, day before seal order ends
seven cases related to the Gyanvapi mosque are pending in various courts; the most prominent case - in a Varanasi district court - is a petition by a group of five Hindu women.
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The Supreme Court will hear the Gyanvapi mosque case on Friday, a day before the expiry of the court's May interim order sealing the area where the 'shivling' was found.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, taking note of submissions from advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain - representing five Hindu women demanding the right to regularly worship deities in the complex - said, "We will constitute a bench at 3 pm tomorrow".
The area was sealed after a trial court allowed a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, which is near the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The top court had also said Muslims could continue to offer prayers and directed authorities to ensure arrangements for those visiting the mosque.
A Varanasi fast-track court this week deferred till November 14 judgement on the maintainability of a plea seeking a ban on Muslims in the complex.
READ | Gyanvapi: Verdict on plea seeking ban on entry of Muslims on November 14
This case was filed by the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS). The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) had challenged its maintainability.
The AIMC argued that since the mosque is registered as a waqf property, it was the waqf tribunal and not the civil court that had jurisdiction in the matter.
VVSS has also sought possession of the premises to worship the structure found earlier this year during a court-ordered survey. Hindu groups say it is a 'shivling' but Muslim parties say it is a part of an old ceremonial fountain.
There are seven cases related to the Gyanvapi mosque pending in various courts. The most prominent one is the one involving the five Hindu women.
