Highlights
- A petition seeking permission for daily worship of Hindu deities was earlier filed by five women
- The idols of these deities are said to be located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque
- Earlier, a lower court had ordered a videography survey of the complex, which was done on May 16
Gyanvapi case: The Varanasi district court on Monday rejected the plea questioning the maintainability of a petition seeking permission for daily worship of Hindu deities whose idols are located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque. District Judge A K Vishvesh ordered that it would continue to hear the petition seeking the right to worship in the temple.
Five women had filed the petition seeking permission for daily worship of Hindu deities whose idols are claimed to be located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee has said the Gyanvapi mosque is a Waqf property and has questioned the maintainability of the plea. The district judge had last month reserved the order till September 12 in the communally sensitive matter. The court fixed September 22 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Commenting on the court order, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case today said, "The court rejected the Muslim side's petition and said the suit is maintainable. The next hearing of the case is on Sep 22."
District Judge AK Vishvesh had last month reserved the order till September 12 in the communally sensitive matter.
A petition seeking permission for daily worship of Hindu deities whose idols are said to be located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque was filed by five women.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee has said the Gyanvapi mosque is a Waqf property and has questioned the maintainability of the plea.
Madan Mohan Yadav, a lawyer of the Hindu side, had said that the mosque was constructed after demolishing the temple.
The case is being heard by the district court following an apex court order.
Earlier, a lower court had ordered a videography survey of the complex. The survey work was completed on May 16 and the report was presented in the court on May 19.
The Hindu side had claimed in the lower court that a Shivling was found during the videography survey of the Gyanvapi mosque-Shringar Gauri complex but it was contested by the Muslim side.
Gyanvapi case: Tight security in Varanasi ahead of court order
Meanwhile, prohibitory orders were clamped and security was tightened in the city ahead of the court order on Monday.
Confirming the restrictions in Varanasi, Police Commissioner A Satish Ganesh on Sunday said prohibitory orders have been issued in the Varanasi commissionerate and officers have been asked to interact with religious leaders in their respective areas to ensure that peace is maintained.
To maintain law and order, he said, the entire city has been divided into sectors that have been allocated police forces as per their requirement.
Directives for flag march and foot march in sensitive areas have also been issued, he said.
Checking has been intensified in the district's border areas, hotels and guest houses, while an eye is being also kept on social media.
(With inputs from PTI)
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