Hindus Can Continue Puja In Gyanvapi Masjid As Allahabad HC Dismisses Plea Of Mosque Committee

The appeal filed by the Gyanvapi Mosque committee against the Varanasi district court’s ruling to hold prayers in a cellar within the Gyanvapi mosque complex was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court (HC) on Monday. The verdict was delivered by Allahabad High Court Judge Rohit Ranjan Agarwal.

“After going through the entire records of the case and after considering arguments of the parties concerned, the court did not find any ground to interfere in the judgment passed by the district judge dated 17.01.2024 appointing DM, Varanasi as receiver of the property as well as the order dated 31.01.2024 by which the district court had permitted Puja in the Tehkhana,” Justice Agarwal said while pronouncing its verdict.

Big victory of the Sanatana Dharma

Hailing the verdict, Advocate Prabhash said that it is a “big victory of the Sanatana Dharma”. “The judge dismissed the pleas that the Muslim side had filed against the District Judge’s order…It means that the puja will continue as it is. District Magistrate will continue as the Receiver of the ‘Tehkhana’…They (Muslim side) can go for a review of the decision. Puja will continue,” he told news agency ANI.

Another Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is representing the Hindu side, said, “Today, the Allahabad High Court has dismissed the first appeal from orders of Anjuman Intezamia which was directed against the order of 17th and 31st January and the effect of the order is that the ongoing puja in the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ of Gyanvapi complex will continue. If the Anjuman Intezamia comes to the Supreme Court, we will file our caveat before the top court,” he said.

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Verdict of Varansi court

On January 31, the Varanasi court decided that the Hindu side could pray in the “Vyas Tehkhana,” the Gyanvapi mosque’s southern cellar. Additionally, the court ordered the district magistrate to schedule a “puja” and designate a “pujari” who would be chosen by the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.

After that, on February 1, the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee—which oversees Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque—filed a plea with the Allahabad High Court, contesting the Varanasi court’s ruling. This happened soon after the Supreme Court turned down the mosque committee’s urgent appeal.