Gyanvapi Case: Allahabad HC Rejects Muslim Side's Pleas, Allows Suit Seeking Restoration Of Temple

Gyanvapi Case Verdict: The petitions had also challenged a Varanasi court order that allowed conduct of a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.

ASI team conduct scientific survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex ( Image Source :PTI )

Gyanvapi Case Verdict: In a setback to the Muslim side, the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a batch of petitions challenging maintainability of a 1991 civil suit filed before Varanasi court seeking restoration of a temple at the Gyanvapi Masjid site, PTI reported. The bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal rejected all the five pleas filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which oversees the Gyanvapi mosque, including a petition challenging a Varanasi court order that allowed conduct of a comprehensive survey of the masjid.

The Allahabad HC said civil suits were not barred by the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which bars conversion of any place of worship and ensures that its religious character remains the same as it was on August 15, 1947. The court also said that the mosque complex can have either a Muslim character or a Hindu character, Live Law reported.

"Any place of worship cannot have a dual religious character," the court said. "The suit affects two major communities of the country...We direct the trial court (Varanasi) to expeditiously decide the suit in six months," the HC further said, as per a Live Law report. 

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The HC also said the lower court may direct ASI to conduct a survey if it feels that a survey of any part of the complex was required.

"Today, the court has dismissed all five writ petitions filed by the Muslim side, and held that the suit filed in 1991 is not barred by the Section 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provision Act) 1991. Further, the HC has directed the lower court to expeditiously dispose of this case since 32 years have passed since it was first filed, and given 6 months to pronounce the final judgement in the case," ANI quoted advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi as saying.

"To prove the religious situation at the site on August 15, 1947, the lower court has been ordered to take evidence, and determine if it's a temple or a mosque," Rastogi further said.

What Is The Gyanvapi Mosque Dispute?

The dispute over the Gyanvapi mosque, which is located adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, has been pending for decades.

In the suit filed before the Varanasi court, the Hindu petitioners have sought restoration of an ancient temple at the disputed site where the Gyanvapi mosque is currently situated. The Hindu side has claimed that the Gyanvapi mosque is an integral part of a temple.

On the other hand, the Muslim side, which also included the UP Sunni Central Waqf and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, argued that the suit filed by the Hindu parties was prohibited by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act.