High Court Upholds Puja Inside Gyanvapi Complex, No Relief For Muslim Side

The Allahabad High Court on Friday denied relief to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which had filed a petition against a Varanasi court order.

The Varanasi court's decision allowed Hindu devotees to worship inside the sealed basement of the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

Photo Credit: PTI

Gyanvapi mosque case

A directive was issued by Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal, instructing the Advocate General to ensure law and order within and outside the Gyanvapi mosque premises.

The case is scheduled for its next hearing on February 6. The Supreme Court had earlier redirected the mosque committee, which challenged a district judge's order permitting puja in the Gyanvapi mosque's southern cellar, to approach the Allahabad High Court.

During the proceedings, senior advocates SFA Naqvi and Puneet Gupta, representing the mosque committee, informed the High Court that the Hindu side sought permission for worship in one of the four cellars, including Vyas Ka Tekhana, located in the basement.

The Muslim side stated that the Hindu side's application was granted on January 17 when a District Magistrate was appointed as a "receiver" of that portion of the mosque. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side, opposed the mosque committee's plea, asserting it did not challenge the January 17 order but only the decision on January 31, which allowed puja in the sealed basement of the Gyanvapi mosque.

The High Court, declining to provide relief, ruled that the mosque committee did not contest the January 17 order and did not stay the district court's decision permitting puja within the Gyanvapi mosque premises. The High Court's decision followed the filing of a plea in the Supreme Court by four women petitioners, seeking an excavation and survey of the sealed section of the mosque.

The petition was filed after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report, according to the Hindu side, indicated the existence of a large Hindu temple before the Gyanvapi mosque's construction. Some Hindu activists contend that a temple previously stood at the disputed Gyanvapi mosque site and was demolished in the 17th century under the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, a claim refuted by the Muslim side.