Hindu side's plea on right to worship allowed in Gyanvapi case | Key takeaways
India Today
The Varanasi district court on Monday upheld the maintainability of the Hindu side’s suit in the Gyanvapi mosque complex case.
In the Gyanvapi Masjid case, the Varanasi court dismissed the Muslim side's plea questioning the maintainability of the suit filed by five women of the Hindu faith. On Monday, district judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesh upheld the maintainability plea of the Hindu petitioners seeking permission to offer prayers (darshan) to Hindu deities on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex.
In accordance with the order rendered earlier today, Anjuman Islamia Committee's question about the plea filed by the Hindu worshippers has been rejected. With this, the five worshippers' plea seeking permission to 'darshan' Maa Shringar Gauri, on the complex's outer wall, will be heard before the Varanasi court.
Here are the top takeaways from the order rendered on September 12:
1. The Varanasi district court has ruled in favour of the parties of the Hindu side on aspects of the maintainability of the Shringar Gauri Gyanvapi Masjid case. The trials pertained to whether the civil suit for seeking permission to 'darshan' was maintainable and whether the plea was based on tenable grounds.
2. District judge AK Vishvesh ordered that the suit, filed by Hindu petitioners, is not barred by The Places of Worship Act. Advocate Vishnu Jain, appearing for the Hindu worshippers, during a hearing on the case on July 4, said, “Those who are referring to the [Places of Worship] Act 1991 should know that if a Shivling is found there which is years old, then the Act is not applicable. We will present this matter in court.”
On Monday, the judge Vishvesh said there was no bar imposed by the Act regarding the suit claiming the right to worship idols installed in the endowment, within the premises of the temple, or outside.
3. The judge said that the defendants, i.e. the mosque committee, failed to prove that the suit of the plaintiffs is barred by the Uttar Pradesh Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983.
