The Varanasi District Court on Monday held that the civil suit filed by five Hindu women seeking permission for unhindered daily worship of Shringar Gauri and other visible and invisible deities located on Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex was maintainable and dismissed the application filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which sees management of the mosque, challenging the suit. The court fixed September 22 as the next date of hearing of the case.
District Judge Ajay Kumar Vishvesha, who had on August 25 reserved the order in the case, delivered the 26-page order in 10 minutes in the presence of 32 persons inside the courtroom, including lawyers of the two sides and plaintiffs, according to an advocate who was present in the courtroom.
In his order, the district judge said, “In view of the discussions and analysis, I have come to the conclusion that the suit of the plaintiffs is not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991, the Waqf Act, 1995 and the UP Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983, and the application 35C filed by the defendant No. 4 (Anjuman Intezamia) is liable to be dismissed.”
The plaintiffs and their advocates welcomed Monday’s order of the court and described it as their victory. On the other hand, the defendants expressed disappointment. Merajuddin Siddiqui, the advocate representing the Muslim side, said they would move the Allahabad High Court against the District Court order.
Five women, Lakshmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas and Rakhi Singh had filed a civil suit in the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar of Varanasi seeking the right to offer prayer to Goddess Shringar Gauri, located on the outer wall of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid complex and other deities located on the complex.
On the order of the court, Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra had conducted a video-survey of the complex on May 6 and 7 but he was removed by the court later on the question of his fairness raised by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee.
The court then appointed Vishal Singh and Ajay Pratap Singh as special advocate commissioner and assistant court commissioner respectively for the survey. Both conducted surveys on May 14, 15 and 16 and submitted their reports on May 19. Advocate commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra also submitted his report.
The plaintiffs had claimed that a shivling was found in the wuzu khana of the mosque during the survey while the defendants claimed that it was a fountain.
In the meantime, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee filed an application in the Supreme Court challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by five Hindu women and the apex court transferred the case to the court of the Varanasi district judge from the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division). The court also ordered sealing of the wuzu khana.
The district administration had made tight security arrangements in and outside the district court. Security was also beefed up at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid complex to avert any untoward incident and maintain the law and order situation. The district administration had also issued prohibitory orders in the city under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Varanasi since Sunday in view of the court order on a sensitive issue.