The Supreme Court has allowed the ongoing puja at Vyasji ka Tehkhana (the Gyanvapi mosque cellar) to continue. This decision comes after a Varanasi court permitted the puja on 31 January and the Allahabad High Court upheld the ruling. The high court order dismissing the appeal against the trial court order was challenged by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, and the highest court has now issued a notice regarding this matter.
“Bearing in mind the fact that the Namaz is offered by (the) Muslim community unhindered after the orders dated Jan 17 and Jan 31 and the offering of pooja by Hindu priest is confined to the area of (the) tehkhana, it is appropriate to maintain status quo so as to (sic) enable both the communities to offer worships in the above terms,” the bench said.
In February, the high court rejected the committee’s request, which contested the district court’s decision on 31 January to permit Hindus to pray in the cellar.
The court rejected the plea, stating that the state government’s decision in 1993 to prohibit puja in the southern cellar of the mosque complex near the Kashi Vishwanath temple was deemed as “illegal”.
The Supreme Court took into consideration the fact that Muslims had been able to offer prayers at the Gyanvapi mosque without any hindrance since the orders were issued on 17 and 31 January even as the lower court allowed puja inside the cellar. It observed that the Hindu rituals were limited to the basement.
The apex court deemed it appropriate to maintain the current situation to facilitate worship for both communities, as outlined in the aforementioned arrangement.
On 31 January, the Varanasi district court had issued a directive allowing a priest to conduct puja in the southern cellar of the mosque complex. This decision came six days after providing litigants with copies of the Archaeological Survey of India’s report, which confirmed the presence of a Hindu temple before the construction of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The Gyanvapi mosque committee’s plea against the permission for Hindu puja in the southern cellar of the mosque has been scheduled for final disposal by the Supreme Court in July.