Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed all the five petitions filed by the Muslim parties challenging the jurisdiction and validity of the civil suits seeking the restoration of the Kashi Vishwanath temple at the site of the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi. The court also upheld the order of the Varanasi court to survey the mosque complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to ascertain the existence of a temple structure beneath it.
The single bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal delivered the verdict on the five petitions, three of which questioned the maintainability of the suits filed in the Varanasi court in 1991 by the Hindu worshippers claiming that the mosque was built by demolishing the temple of Lord Adi Vishweshwar Virajman in the 17th century by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The other two petitions challenged the order of the Varanasi court passed in April 2021 to allow the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the mosque premises.
The court rejected the arguments of the Muslim parties that the suits were barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits any change in the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. The court held that the Act does not apply to the Gyanvapi dispute as it was pending before the enactment of the law and the suits were based on the rights of the Hindu worshippers to worship at the temple site.
The court also dismissed the objections of the Muslim parties to the ASI survey and said that it was necessary to determine the factual aspects of the dispute. The court said that the survey conducted by the ASI will be the only valid evidence and if the Hindu parties want to conduct any further surveys, they can file an application in the Varanasi court. The court directed the Varanasi court to complete the trial of the suits within six months and pronounce its judgment.
The Muslim parties in the dispute include the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the affairs of the Gyanvapi Masjid, and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, which claims to be the owner of the mosque land. The Allahabad High Court had reserved its judgment on the petitions for the fourth time on December 8, 2023.
