The Allahabad High Court on Friday refrained from granting immediate relief to the Gyanvapi Masjid committee, which had challenged a Varanasi district court's decision permitting Hindu prayers in a cellar of the mosque. The court has scheduled the next hearing for February 6.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal issued this order during the hearing of an appeal filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the body overseeing the mosque's affairs in Varanasi. The committee had swiftly moved to the high court after the Supreme Court declined to hear its plea against the Varanasi district court's decision, directing them to approach the high court instead.
The Varanasi court had ruled on Wednesday that a priest could conduct prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The decision allowed regular worship to be performed by a 'pujari' appointed by the Kashi Vishwanath temple trust, along with the petitioner who claimed his grandfather conducted pujas in the cellar until December 1993. A puja was conducted in the mosque's southern cellar on the night of the Varanasi district court's order.
During the hearing, advocate S F A Naqvi, representing the committee, argued that the order was hastily passed on the day of the judge's retirement and without proper consideration of their documents. Varanasi district judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha retired on January 31.
On the other side, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu party, pointed out that the district court had appointed the Varanasi district magistrate as the receiver of the property on January 17, and the possession was taken on January 24. He argued that the January 31 order was merely consequential, and since the January 17 order was unchallenged, the appeal is not maintainable.
In response, Naqvi mentioned the need to file an amendment application challenging the January 17 order. The advocate general assured that the district administration would uphold law and order in compliance with the January 31 order.
The hearing also involves respondents Board of Trustees, Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, and Shailendra Kumar Pathak, head priest of Acharya Ved Vyas Peeth Temple Complex. The court's decision on February 6 is awaited to determine the course of action in this contentious matter.
(With Agency Inputs)
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