The Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi , India, is associated with historical contraversies . It is believed to have been built on the site where the Kashi Vishwanath Temple stood . Hindu efforts for the temple have a long history , with a significant chapter being the movement to reclaim the site in the 1990s . This movement culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992 , sparking both communal tensions and renewed interest in the Gyanvapi -Kashi vishwanath issue. The legal and social aspects of this history remain contentious , with ongoing debate and efforts of various groups to address the complex historical and religious dimensions.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
A Varanasi court on Wednesday allowed the Hindu devotees to worship inside the sealed basement of Gyanvapi Mosque.
As per the court order , Hindu devotees can now offer prayers at “ Vyas Ka Tekana ” a sealed area inside Varanasi 's Gyanvapi Mosque.
The court, during it's hearing earlier in the day, also directed the district administration to make the necessary arrangements for the ‘puja’ to be performed by the devotees and Ask the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust to nominate a pujari for the same.
While speaking to reporters, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain , representing the Hindu side , said Hindu site allowed to offer prayers at ‘Vyas Ka Tekana ’ .
The District Administration will have to make arrangements within 7 days .
Everyone will now have the right to perform Puja .
SIMILAR TO BABRI MASJID VERDICT
Vishnu Shankar Jain also likened Varanasi court's order to 1983 verdict announced by Justice KM Mohan , who ordered the opening of looked doors of the then disputed Ram Mandir - Babri Masjid Premises .
Advocate Vishnu Jain said “ I see Varanasi Court's recent order as historic as the order given by justice Krishna Mohan Pandey in1983 , who order the opening of locks of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya”.
JM Pandey , a Gorakhpur resident , was the first judge on whose orders the lock of the Ram Mandir was opened for worship.
SIGNIFICANCE
The Varanasi Court Order came days after Archological Survey of India (ASI ) report as per the Hindu side, revealed that a large Hindu temple existed before the construction of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.
In their plea , the women argued that the exact nature of the ‘Shivling ’ can be determined after removing the artificial /modern wall / floors surrounding it and by undertaking a survey of the entire sealed area by excavation and using other scientific methods .
MUSLIM SIDE TO APPEAL THE VERDICT
Anjuman Intezemia Masjid committee council Akhlaque Ahmed said that he would challenge the order in the higher court .
The court has fixed February 8 as date of hearing on an application by the mosque committee saying that the plea should be dismissed .
TIMELINE OF THE CONTROVERSY
In 1991, the first petition in the case was filed in Varanasi court by Swayambu Jyotirlinga Bhagwan Vishweshwar .
The petitioner had sought permission to worship in Gyanvapi complex.
He has placed three demands before the court including that the court should declare the entire Gyanvapi Complex as a part of the Kashi Temple .
Besides , he also sought eviction of Muslim from the complex area and also sought mosque in the complex to the demolished.
In 1998, Anjuman Intezemia Masjid committee filled a case at the Allahabad Highcourt .
The committee in their plea before the court asserted that the temple - mosque land dispute could not be adjudicated by a civil court as it barred by the law .
It was on the directions of the high court that the proceedings in the lower court got stayed which continued for the past 22years.
The ongoing contraversy began in 2019, when a Varanasi - filled a petition seeking an examination by the ASI . The Muslim side opposed the petition seeking the ASI survey of the mosque complex.
In 2022, the Varanasi court heared a petition by five Hindu women seeking permission court to conduct daily prayers at “ a shrine behind the western wall of the mosque complex” and protection of the idols.
The Varanasi Court appointed Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra to carry out an inspection of the site , “ prepare vediography of the action ” and submit a report .The Hindu site claimed that a ‘Shivling’ has been found by the survey team in the ‘wazukhana’ in the mosque complex .
The reports of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex , submitted in the court in May 2022 , state that debris of old temple were found at the corner of the northern and western wall outside the barricading and Hindu motifs such as bells , kalash , flower and trishul were visible on pillars in the tehkhana (basement).
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed the court order for vediography as a clear violations of The Places of Worship Act ,1991.
However , in September last year , the Varanasi District Court rejected the Anjuman committee plea challenging Hindu worshippers plea in Gyanvapi case.
The Anjuman Intezemia Masjid committee (AMIC) then challenged the Varanasi court order and filled a petition .
Meanwhile , in May , the Varanasi District Court agree to hear a plea for an ASI survey , following an Allahabad Highcourt order . The Supreme court had order the protection of the area around the claimed ‘Shivling ’ , found when another court order in vedio survey of the complex.
In June this year , the HC upheld the Varanasi District Court Order that said Hindu group are not barred by the Place of Worship Act ,1991, and suit seeking the right to worship inside the Gyanvapi Mosque was maintainable.
Earlier on Friday , the Varanasi court issued directions for a “Scientific Investigation” of the mosque premises by the ASI . District and Session Judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha directed the ASI to “Conduct ground penetrating radar survey just below the three domes of the building in question and conduct excavation , if required ” .
The Judge order the survey proceedings to be vediographed and the report must be submitted,to the court before August 4. The move came after the court on July 14 reserved its order after both Hindu and Muslim sides.
