The Supreme Court has deferred the hearing on the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque land title dispute until December 1, due to time constraints. The court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, requested the involved parties to file a brief one-page note in the interim.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, responsible for managing the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, has submitted three different pleas to the Supreme Court. The first plea challenges the appointment of a court commissioner to survey the Gyanvapi-Gauri Shringar complex, asserting that the Varanasi court's order lacks jurisdiction.
Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, argued against the correctness of the commissioner's appointment under Order XXVI Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).
The second petition challenges the Allahabad High Court's decision allowing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the Gyanvapi mosque premises, except for the 'wuzu khana' (ablution area). The Supreme Court, on a previous occasion, declined to issue an interim order halting the survey process, with an assurance from the Solicitor General that no excavation would take place at the site.
The third petition questions the Allahabad High Court's ruling validating the maintainability of a suit filed by Hindu worshippers before the district court. The High Court had dismissed a revision application against the rejection of an application under Order VII, Rule 11 of the CPC by the District Judge, affirming that the suit seeking the 'right to worship' the deities in the disputed property is admissible.
In 2021, Hindu plaintiffs filed a suit in the Varanasi court seeking uninterrupted worship at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal. The mosque management committee countered, denying the mosque's construction over a temple, affirming it had always been a mosque structure.
(With Agency Inputs)
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