Nithyakalyani Narayanan. V
On February 26, 2024, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Gyanvapi Mosque committee, which had challenged the Varanasi Court’s January 31 ruling permitting “Puja” in “Vyas Tehkhana,” the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque. In this way, the District Judge’s order has been essentially upheld. After hearing arguments from both sides, a bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal reserved the verdict, which was announced today, 11 days later.
The Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee, which oversees Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, filed the appeal with the High Court on February 1, not long after the Supreme Court turned down the Mosque Committee’s request for an expedited hearing about the ruling permitting puja at Vyas Ji ka Tehkhana.
The Committee maintained that they owned the Vyas Tehkhana because it was a part of the mosque grounds and that neither the Vyas family nor anybody else had the right to worship inside the Tehkhana.
The mosque committee further argued that, as it was a well-known fact that there had not been a puja at Tehkhana since 1993, the Court’s decision to choose a receiver and alter the status quo after 30 years should have been supported by a compelling argument. Additionally, it was argued that the Hindu Plaintiff never possessed the Vyas Tehkhana and that the possession problem could only be resolved through issue framing.
The Hindu plaintiff’s attorneys, Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, backed the Varanasi District Judge’s order from January 31. They said that while their first prayer—for the appointment of a receiver—was granted on January 17, their second prayer—for praying inside Vyas Tehkhana—was denied due to an omission. When they asked the District Judge to grant their second prayer as well, he granted it on January 31 by using his authority under Section 152 CrPC.
Hindu groups have consistently maintained that the Hindu ‘Puja-Path’ never ceased within the Tehkhana and that it did so even after the CRPF gained control of it in 1993.