Gyanvapi Dispute

A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Surya Kant and P.S. Narasimha said the interim order passed on May 17, in connection with the protection of the area found during a survey, will remain in operation till further orders.

Hindu petitioners said that they would study the verdict and then decide whether to approach the high court. The petitioners had claimed that the 'Shivling' found in the 'wuzu khana' or reservoir of the mosque during survey work on May 16 was part of the property.

District judge A.K. Vishvesha dismissed the petition filed by the Muslim side citing the Places of Worship Act and questioning the maintainability of the petition. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side said, "The court rejected the Muslim side's petition and said the suit is maintainable. The next hearing in the matter will be on September 22."

Speaking to IANS, advocate Subhash Nandan, representing the five Hindu women plaintiffs at the trial court, said it is important to determine the religious nature of the place and last week, the Supreme Court also made an observation that the ascertainment of the religious character of a place of worship is not barred by the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

The district judge has outlined the sequence of hearing -- he would first decide the sequence in which additional pleas, objections, and add-ons would be taken up. Speaking to IANS Mohammed Tauhid Khan, representing the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, said, "The suit is barred by law and not maintainable..."

The Judge has asked for objections to the Court Commissioners survey report from both the sides. The district court has also given seven days' time to both the sides to file objections to the report of the court-mandated videography of the complex. In the court, the mosque committee, Anjumane Intezamia, has argued that the suit is barred under the Places of Worship Act, the Hindu side that the survey report should be considered by the court.

The Hindu side has sought permission for daily worship of Shringar Gauri in Gyanvapi complex and also permission for worship of 'Shivling' found in 'wuzukhana' of the mosque. They have also sought removal of debris in the passage leading to the room under 'Shivling'.

The resurrection of a medieval episode of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb's desecration of one particular temple in the ancient city of Kashi (Varanasi) makes it necessary to revise the sequence of developments that precede the edifice that stands as Gyanvapi mosque, adjacent to the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple situated on the western banks of river Ganga.

Thirty years later in 2021, the Allahabad High Court stayed proceedings in the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir-Gyanvapi Masjid case in a Varanasi court, suspending a controversial archaeological survey of the premises to determine whether a Hindu temple was partially razed to build the 17th-century mosque.

A bench, headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Surya Kant and P.S. Narasimha, said taking in view of complexity of the issues involved in the suit and the sensitivity, the suit before Civil Judge, Senior Division, Varanasi should be tried before a senior and experienced judicial officer of the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service.