Gyanvapi case: As the Varanasi district court allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi termed the order a violation of the Places of Worship Act.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said that granting permission for worship in the inside the 'Vyas Ka Tekhana' area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex was wrong.
'Violation of Places of Worship Act'
"The judge who gave the decision was his last day before retirement. The judge appointed the District Magistrate as receiver on January 17 and finally he has directly given the verdict. He himself said that no prayers were offered since 1993. It has been 30 years. How does he know there is idol inside? This is violation of Places of Worship Act," he said.
Owaisi claims lower courts not following SC order
"He has ordered to open the grills within 7 days. 30 days should have been given to make an appeal. This is wrong decision. Till the time Modi government does not state that they stand by the Places of Worship Act this will go on. During Babri Masjid title suit judgement, I had raised this apprehension. Places of Worship Act was made a part of the basic structure of the Supreme Court decision, then why are the lower courts not following the order?" Owaisi added.
He added that the Intezamia Masjid Committee will file an appeal in the Allahabad High Court challenging this decision.
Varanasi court allows Hindu side to worship inside Gyanvapi mosque
Varanasi court permitted Hindu devotees to worship within the confines of Gyanvapi mosque's sealed basement. The prayers will be conducted -- apparently at regular intervals -- by a "pujari" nominated by the Kashi Vishwanath temple trust and the petitioner who has claimed his grandfather offered puja at the cellar up to December 1993.
The Vyasa family had been performing religious ceremonies in the basement until 1993, and the recent court decision reinstates this tradition. The court issued directives for the initiation of arrangements to implement the decision within a week. The Vyasa family will now be allowed to conduct religious rituals in the sealed basement, bringing an end to a longstanding legal battle.
Hindu devotees are authorised to offer prayers inside the sealed basement of Gyanvapi mosque, known as 'Vyas Ka Tekhana,' according to the recent verdict from Varanasi court. The court instructed the district administration to facilitate the arrangements for Hindu worship within the next seven days.
The mosque has four 'tahkhanas' (cellars) in the basement, of which one is still in the possession of the Vyas family, who used to live there. Vyas had petitioned that, as hereditary pujari, he be allowed to enter the tahkhana and resume pooja.
(With agencies input)
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