Challenging the January 31 order of the Varanasi District judge, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) had filed an appeal at the Allahabad HC.
“Today, the Allahabad High Court has dismissed the first appeal from orders of Anjuman Intezamia wherein the order of 17th and 31st January passed by Varanasi District Court was under challenge before Allahabad HC. The crux of the matter is that the ongoing puja in the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ of Gyanvapi complex will continue,” said Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side.
The mosque contains four cellars in its basement, and one of them is currently owned by the Vyas family, former residents of the mosque.
On January 31, the district court of Varanasi ruled that a priest may conduct prayers in front of the idols situated in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The Varanasi court had asked the city’s district magistrate to make arrangements within seven days for ‘puja’ to be performed by the Hindu side and a pujari (priest) nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust. After the order of the court, “puja” and “aarti” were performed in the early hours on Thursday.
Ashutosh Vyas, a priest who comes from the petitioner families in the legal case, said that priests from the adjoining Kashi Vishwanath temple have been offering prayers around five times a day. “Every day, more than 10,000 people visit the Gyanvapi area to get a glimpse of their lord from a distance,” Vyas was quoted as saying by Reuters. “The number has been increasing since the court order. People are very desperately waiting to see a temple at the site.”(With agency inputs)
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