On Wednesday, January 31, a district court in Varanasi granted permission for the Hindu side to pray in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque without facing any opposition.
A poojari who was nominated by the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust was to be performed by the Hindu side, as mandated by the court, which instructed the receiver to make the necessary arrangements.
Within the next week, Puja will get underway. The attorney who is defending the Hindu side, Vishnu Shankar Jain, stated that everyone will have the freedom to perform puja.
The Muslim side will file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
The attorney for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, Akhlaque Ahmad, stated that he would file a challenge against the order at the higher court levels. The date of the hearing on the application that was submitted by the mosque committee stating that the plea ought to be dismissed has been set for February 8th.
The order was issued by the district court one day after four Hindu women petitioned the Supreme Court for an excavation and scientific survey of a section of the mosque that had been sealed off. This was in response to a report from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which concluded that a large Hindu temple existed prior to the construction of the mosque.
The petition stated that “it is submitted that for a proper and effective investigation, it is necessary that the ASI may be directed to undertake necessary excavation and use other scientific methods around the Shivlingam (which is being claimed by Muslims as a fountain) for determining the nature of the Shivlingam and associated features without causing any damage to the object after removing artificial or modern walls or floors surrounding the Shivlingam.” This was stated in the petition.
Regarding the contested structure that is located in the region in question, the Hindus assert that it is a Shivaling, while the Muslim side has refuted this claim, stating that it is a component of a ceremonial washing tank.
