The senior most judge of Varanasi’s district court will begin hearing over the Gyanvapi mosque row at 2 pm today. The hearing will involve the examination of the Gyanvapi Masjid management committee’s plea seeking dismissal of Hindu petitioners’ suit for their right to worship within the mosque complex.
Also, READ: Gyanvapi mosque case: No verdict today, Varanasi court to hear the matter on May 26
Here’s everything you need to know about the Gyanvapi Mosque row
- On May 24, the district judge A K Vishevesh decided to hear the mosque committee’s plea first. This plea challenges the maintainability of a petition filed by five Hindu women who have claimed that there are idols of gods and goddesses inside the mosque, and they should be given access to the mosque complex.
- The district judge has asked both sides to file objections to the report of court-mandated filing within the mosque complex in a week. According to the mosque committee, filming in the mosque complex is a violation of a 1991 law which prevents the alteration of the character of any place of worship in the country.
- The case was moved to a ‘senior and experienced judge’ due to the ‘complexities’ and sensitivity’ associated with it.
- The Supreme Court has now asked district judge A K Vishevesh to prioratise whether the survey at the Gyanvapi mosque and the petition which initiated the inspected was maintainable.
- Meanwhile, the earlier interim order of May 17 about protecting the area where the ‘Shivling’ was found, and allowing Muslims to offer namaz, would remain unaffected until the disposal of the mosque committee’s plea.
- After the order of the district judge, the aggrieved party will have a period of eight weeks to pursue its rights and remedies as per the law.
- Several lawyers representing Hindu petitioners had earlier claimed that a ‘Shivling’ was spotted during the videography survey of the mosque complex. The three-day survey was conducted under tight security. Following this, the mosque committee members said that it was part of the water fountain system in the ‘wazookhana’ reservoir, which was used by devotees to perform ritual ablutions before beginning their namaz.
- A petition filed to seek ban on the entry of Muslims in the mosque complex was transferred to a fast-track court for hearing on May 30.
- A petition was filed in the year 1991 in the Varanasi court where the petitioners, local priests sought permission to worship in the Gyanvapi Mosque.
- According to the petitioners, the mosque was made on the orders of Aurangzeb by demolishing a part of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple during the 16th century. In December 2019, a Varanasi-based lawyer -Vijay Shankar Rastogi, filed a petition citing that the construction was illegal and sought an archaeological survey.
- In April 2021, the lawyer’s petition led the Varanasi court to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to complete the survey and submit its report in the lower court.
- The court hearing today will also decide if the 1991 Places of Worship Act bars attempt to renew demands by a group of ascertaining religious character to a place.
