Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Allahabad HC Dismisses Muslim Side's Plea Against Suit Maintainability

Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed the Muslim side's plea challenging the maintainability of five Hindu women worshippers' suit filed in Varanasi Court seeking the right to worship inside Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.

The Court upheld the Varanasi Court's earlier order holding the suit to be maintainable, according to Live Law.

"It is a big win for the Hindu side. We welcome the decision of the court to dismiss Order 7 Rule CPC plea filed by Anjuman Intazamia Mosque Committee which challenged the maintainability of the suit of five Hindu women worshippers seeking the right to worship inside Gyanvapi mosque," ANI quoted Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, the lawyer representing the Hindu side, in a tweet.

A single bench of Justice JJ Munir passed the verdict in the case.

However, Mohammad Tauheed Khan, the advocate representing the Muslim side in the Gyanvapi case, said, "This is not a big win (for the Hindu side) as the court gave a verdict only on the Order 7 Rule CPC plea filed by Anjuman Intazamia Mosque Committee. We can file a review petition and also approach the Supreme Court. The next course of action will be decided upon after reading the order."

The petition was filed by five women seeking permission for daily worship of Hindu deities whose idols are said to be located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque, which is located close to Kashi Vishwanath temple.

According to the five women, the current premises of the mosque were once a Hindu temple, which was demolished by the Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb. Subsequently, the present mosque structure was constructed in its place.

Last year, the Anjuman Committee, responsible for managing the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, challenged the admissibility of the suit. They filed an application under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC, contending that the suit brought forward by the Hindu worshippers is prohibited by the Law (Places of Worship Act, 1991).

The next hearing of the Gyanvapi mosque case is on July 7.