New Delhi: In a major development, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed the Muslim side’s plea challenging the trial of the lawsuit filed by five Hindu women worshipers in the Varanasi court seeking the right to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque in the holy city. . The order was passed by a single judge bench of Justice JJ Munir. The Allahabad High Court had reserved its decision on 23 December 2022 after hearing the arguments.
The Allahabad High Court’s decision means that the case related to the Gyanvapi mosque will continue to be heard by the local Varanasi court. The Anjuman Intejamia Masjid (AIM) Committee and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board had petitioned the High Court to dismiss the suit of five Hindu women worshippers, arguing that it was in violation of the Places of Worship Act of 1991 and the Central Waqf Act. not maintainable under 1995.
He challenged the decision of the district judge of Varanasi, who had earlier dismissed his objection to the trial. The pending civil suit was filed by Rakhi Singh and nine others, including five women, in a Varanasi court. They were demanding regular worship of Shringar Gauri at the Gyanvapi mosque, a proposal that has sparked significant controversy.
On the orders of the Supreme Court, the hearing of this case was going on in the court of the District Judge of Varanasi. The case was transferred to the district judge’s court in May last year. The Muslim side filed an objection in the court and appealed to dismiss the petition of women including Rakhi Singh.
Reacting to the Allahabad High Court judgement, Vishnu Shankar Jain, a lawyer for the Hindu side, called it a “historic” judgement. Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, “The court has clearly stated that the petition of the Anjuman Intejamia Masjid Committee is not maintainable and has dismissed it.”
Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, another lawyer representing the Hindu side, called it a “big victory” and welcomed the court’s decision.
“This is a big victory for the Hindu side. We welcome the court’s decision to dismiss the Order 7 Rule CPC petition filed by the Anjuman Intazamia Masjid Committee, in which five Hindu women seeking the right to worship inside Gyanvapi The stability of the worshipers’ liturgy was challenged in the mosque,” he said.
The dispute has been in the courts since April 2021, when a Varanasi court directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a comprehensive survey of the mosque complex.