Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Row| Allahabad HC Seeks Certain Clarifications Months After Reserving Its Orders In A Bunch Of Pleas, Hearing On July 14
Months after reserving its orders in a bunch of pleas concerning the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath Temple issue, the Allahabad High Court last week sought certain clarifications in the matter from the parties before it. Having heard the parties for some time on May 26, the Bench of Justice Prakash Padia has posted the matter for further hearing on July 14. The pleas before the Court include...
Months after reserving its orders in a bunch of pleas concerning the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath Temple issue, the Allahabad High Court last week sought certain clarifications in the matter from the parties before it.
Having heard the parties for some time on May 26, the Bench of Justice Prakash Padia has posted the matter for further hearing on July 14. The pleas before the Court include a challenge to the maintainability of a suit filed before a Varanasi court, seeking the restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists.
Another plea before the bench is of the Anjuman Masjid Committee (which manages the GYANVAPI MOSQUE), challenging a 2021 order of the Varanasi Court to conduct an archaeological survey of the Mosque complex to determine whether a Hindu temple was partially razed to build the Gyanvapi mosque in the 17th century.
Background of the matters before the HC
A suit was filed before the Varanasi Court by the Ancient Idol Of Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar And 5 Others in the year 1991 claiming the restoration of the land on which the Gyanvapi Mosque stands to Hindus.
Challenging the same, the Anjuman Intazamia Masazid moved the HC, wherein it also challenged the proceeding before the Varanasi court in which an ASI survey had been ordered in April 2021. However, the said survey was stayed by High Court in September 2021 and the stay order is in operation even now, and will continue to operate till the delivery of the Judgment.
Last year, the HC clubbed such pleas with three related pleas and reserved the verdict in the case last year in November. However, now it needs clarifications on certain issues, and hence, the matter has been listed again for hearing.
It may be noted that it is the stand of the contesting respondents (for Ancient Idol Of Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar) that the petitioner before the Court [Anjuman Intazamia Masazid, Varanasi] earlier filed an application under Order VII Rule 11(d) CPC for rejecting the plaint (of the Ancient Idol Of Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar) however, they did not press the same for a considerable time, and instead, they chose to file a written statement in the 1991 suit.
It is also the case of the respondents that on the basis of pleadings in the suit, the issues were framed by the Varanasi Court and it proceeded ahead with the suit.
Importantly, the respondents have maintained that the property in question, i.e. the temple of Lord Visheshwar has been in existence from ancient times, i.e., Satyug up till now and that the Swayambhu Lord Visheshwar is situated in the disputed structure itself, and therefore, the land in dispute is itself an integral part of Lord Visheshwar.
On the argument put forth by the Majid committee that since the plaint in the 1991 suit was barred by the provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and hence, the same should be rejected, the respondents have argued before the HC that the religious character of the place of worship remained the same as on the day of August 15, 1947, therefore, the provisions of Place of Worship Act, 1991 cannot be applied to the case.