Gyanvapi Case: Allahabad High Court rejected the petitions of the Muslim side in the matter of ban on permission for worship in the basement of Vyasji located in Gyanvapi, Varanasi. Puja will continue in Vyasji Tehkhana. The single bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal gave the decision.
In this case, the Muslim side had challenged the order of Varanasi District Court in the High Court. Let us tell you that on January 31, the District Court of Varanasi had given permission to the Hindu side to worship in the Vyas basement of Gyanvapi, after which the order of the Varanasi Court was challenged by the Anjuman Arrangements Mosque Committee on behalf of the Muslim side in the Allahabad High Court.
Vyasji Basement: History of Worship
- Worshiped in basement till 1993: Vyas family claims
- The then government worshiped in the Rukwai basement.
- Worship is not happening in the basement for 31 years
- Shatananda Vyas performed puja in 1551: Vyas family claims
- September 2023: Shailendrapathak Vyas filed petition in the court
- Petition regarding the right to worship in Vyasji’s basement
- Petition demanded to hand over the basement to DM
- January 17: The district administration took possession of the basement.
- 31 January: District Court gave permission for worship in the basement.
- Muslim side filed petition in Allahabad High Court
- Muslim side challenged the decision in the High Court
Varanasi court had given the decision of Pooja on the petition of Shailendra Pathak.
The Varanasi district court had ordered the puja on the petition of Shailendra Kumar Pathak, who had said that his maternal grandfather Somnath Vyas had performed the puja till December 1993. Pathak had requested that as a hereditary priest he be allowed to enter the basement and resume worship. The mosque has four ‘tahkhanas’ (cellars), and one of them is still owned by the Vyas family.
The mosque committee had said – no idol is present in the basement
The Varanasi district court order came a day after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report on the mosque complex was made public. The ASI survey ordered by the same court in connection with this case suggested that the mosque was built on the remains of a Hindu temple during the rule of Aurangzeb. The mosque committee had refuted the petitioner’s point. The committee said that no idol was present in the basement, hence there was no question of praying there till 1993. Let us tell you that the committee had gone to the High Court on February 2, within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear its petition against the order of the Varanasi District Court and asking it to go to the High Court. After hearing both the sides on 15 February, Allahabad High Court had reserved its decision.
