‘Gyanvapi Is A Masjid Visible To Naked Eye, Court Doesn’t Have To Decide Its Religious Character As On 15 Aug 1947’: Mosque Committee In Varanasi Court

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, has submitted before the District Judge that the Court doesn’t have to decide as to what was Gyanvapi Moque’s religious character as on August 15, 1947, the cut-off date in the Places of Worship Act 1991. The committee has also submitted that it would be visible even to the naked eye that the disputed building is a mosque and it was so even on August 15, 1947, and the said fact has also been affirmed by the Allahabad High Court in its Judgment of Deen Mohammed (1937). These submissions have been made in an application of the Mosque committee objecting to a plea moved before the Varanasi District Judge by Rakhi Singh in August this year seeking a direction to the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to undertake a survey of the Wazukhana area (except for the 'Shiva Linga') without causing any damage to the structure. The application by Singh (moved through Advocates Saurabh Tiwari and Anupam Dwivedi) has been filed in the Shringar Gauri Worshipping suit 2022 (presently pending before the Varanasi Court). It may be noted that the 2022 Suit was filed by 5 Hindu Women Worshippers (including Singh) seeking year-round access to worship deities present inside the Mosque premises. In its reply, the Mosque committee has also submitted that Singh’s plea seeks an ASI survey of the area which has been protected/sealed by the Supreme Court of India in May last year and hence, her plea was liable to be rejected. It adds that the statement in Singh's plea that the Court has to decide on the religious character of the Mosque as on August 15, 1947. The reply also states that Singh’s application has been filed with a malafide intention and hence, the same should be dismissed with cost. The matter will come up for hearing before the District Judge on October 12. In related news, Varanasi District Judge today granted the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) a further 4 weeks’ time to file its report pertaining to the Gyanvapi Mosque Survey. It may be noted that the ASI is presently conducting a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi as per the July 21 order of the Varanasi District Judge to determine if the mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.

‘Gyanvapi Is A Masjid Visible To Naked Eye, Court Doesn’t Have To Decide Its Religious Character As On 15 Aug 1947’: Mosque Committee In Varanasi Court

Sparsh Upadhyay

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