Allahabad HC rejects Masjid Committee plea on maintainability of Hindu women suit seeking worshipping rights inside Gyanvapi Mosque

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a review petition filed by the Anjuman Intazamia Mosque Committee (which manages the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi) challenging a Varanasi court's order dismissing its plea challenging the maintainability of a suit filed by Hindu worshipers seeking year-long worship at the premises Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.

The Supreme Court upheld the order of Varanasi District Magistrate Ajay Krishna Vishwesh, who ruled that an application filed by Hindu religious women for year-round worship rights at the Gyanvapi mosque is maintainable, according to reports.

The Allahabad High Court reserved its verdict on the Masjid Committee's objection in December last year after hearing arguments from both sides. The Varanasi District Magistrate on September 12 dismissed the Masjid Committee's plea challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by Hindu religious women through an application filed under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).

District Judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesha said the suit by the five women was not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, the Waqf Act, 1995 and the UP Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983.

The District Magistrate of Varanasi rejected the claims of the Masjid Committee and agreed with the arguments of Hindu worshippers. Whoever argued that he did not seek to convert a place of worship from a mosque to a temple, and therefore the Places of Worship Act, which seeks to protect the status of all religious structures as they stood on August 15, 1947, cannot be used in this case.

In 2021, five Hindu female devotees filed a case in a court in Varanasi for year-round worship right inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The Varanasi court, while appointing the judicial commissioner, had ordered the complex to be videotaped last year, which was opposed by the Masjid Committee.

The survey work at the Gyanvapi Mosque premises was completed on May 16 and the report was submitted to the court on May 19 last year. A structure was reportedly found during a forensic search inside the Gyanvapi Mosque. While the Hindu side claimed that the structure was a 'Shiva Linga', the Muslim side claimed that it was a 'fountain'.

The District Court of Varanasi is currently hearing a suit by Hindu worshipers seeking year-round worship rights at the Gyanvapi Masjid premises, after rejecting the Masjid Committee's objections to the tenability of the Hindu women worshippers' plea.