By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, December 19: In a major victory for activists seeking restoration of temple in the Gyanvai Mosque, the Allahabad High Court rejected the petitions of the Muslim side which had prayed to stop the ongoing survey and hearinf in the civil court of Varanasi.
In further jolt to the applicants from the Muslim side, the high court rejected the claims that the Gyanvapi Mosque is protected by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act of 1991. This law restricts altering the character of religious places as they existed on August 15, 1947. It may be recalled that the Ramjanmabhomi case was also exempted from this law which was enacted in the aftermath of the Babri Mosque demolition in 1992.
The Hindu activists have been asserting that the Gyanvapi Mosque is part of the temple complex of Kashi Vishwanath. On the orders of the Varansi civil court, surveys have been held which reportedly claimed the presence of a Shivalinga in the complex.
The Allahabad high court dismissed a batch of petitions. They were filed by the Muslim side to challenge the maintainability of a civil suit before a Varanasi civil court. The civil suits have prayed before the local court for the restoration of a temple at the Gyanvapi Mosque complex.
The reports stated that the Allahabad high court rejected all the five pleas filed by the Muslim side. The petitions were filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board. The petitions had challenged the Varanasi court order delivered on April 8, 2021 for a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex.
It may be noted Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee looks after the management of Gyanvapi Mosque. This is adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
The decision of the Allahanad high court has come at a time when the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is set for inauguration on January 22. The grand preparations are underway for the inauguration of the Ram Temple for which thousands of the people are being invited.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been demanding freeing of temple compexes at Varansi and Mathura from mosques. With the Allahabad high court giving its nod for the civil court in Varanasi to hear the pleas of the Hindus on the Gyanvapi Mosque, the issue is likely to find resonance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. There are 80 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also a Lok Sabha MP from Varanasi.
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