The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Varanasi): The Allahabad High Court has refused to grant a stay on the Varanasi Court order that permitted Hindu prayers to be offered in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The court has given time until February 6 for the Masjid Intezamia Committee of Gyanvapi mosque to amend its pleadings and challenge the January 17 order, which subsequently led to the January 31 order allowing Hindu prayers.
The Allahabad High Court bench, presided over by Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal, emphasized that the mosque side should first challenge the January 17 order, by which the District Magistrate of Varanasi was appointed as the receiver and took possession of the Gyanvapi premises on January 23. Following this, the District Court granted permission to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust to perform puja in the basement through a priest on January 31.
The court raised questions about why the Masjid Intezamia Committee did not challenge the basic order of January 17. The committee’s lawyer stated that they would challenge it, as the district magistrate began preparations for the puja immediately after the order was issued.
Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer representing the Hindu side, objected to the appeal’s maintainability, arguing that the original order had not been challenged, and the subordinate court had not granted relief to the plaintiff.
Earlier, on January 31, the Varanasi district court had allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque, directing the district magistrate to make arrangements for the puja within seven days.
This development is part of a long-standing legal dispute regarding the Gyanvapi mosque, with historical and religious significance, as the Hindu side claims it was built over the remains of a Hindu temple during Aurangzeb’s rule.