Gyanvapi case: Varanasi court allows Hindu side to pray in mosque basement

Gyanvapi case: The Hindu side's advocate Madan Mohan Yadav said that the Varanasi court has allowed Hindus to worship in the "Vyas ji ka tahkhana" located in the Gyanvapi complex

A Varanasi court, on Wednesday, allowed the Hindu side to perform prayers in the sealed basement of the controversial Gyanvapi mosque premises.

The Hindu side's advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, reacting to the order, said that the Varanasi court has allowed Hindus to worship in the "Vyas ji ka tahkhana" located in the Gyanvapi complex.

The temple side plaintiffs hailed the order as a "big" victory for their case. The puja in the sealed area will begin in seven days while a pujari (priest) will be appointed for the same by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust on Thursday, the court order said.

"The district administration will have to make arrangements for the puja within seven days," Hindu-side advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said, citing the court order.

Hindu side demands fresh survey of 'Wazu Khana'

The development followed a day after the Hindu women plaintiff moved to the Supreme Court, seeking directions for the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out a fresh survey to determine the details of the 'Shivling' claimed to have been found in the sealed area of the mosque. According to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, the sealed area is 'Wazu khana', where ablutions are performed before offering namaz.

The ASI carried out a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises, located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, after an order from the district court on July 21 last year.

ASI survey report says temple existed on premises

The ASI had been instructed to determine whether the mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. Its survey report, made public by the Hindu side on January 25, said that a "large Hindu temple existed" before the construction of the Gyanvapi mosque.

"...the pre-existing structure appears to have been destroyed in the 17th century, during the reign of Aurangzeb, and part of it was modified and reused in the existing structure," the report said.

Meanwhile, the Muslim side disputed the timelines indicated in the ASI survey and stated that the report is only a finding and not a final verdict.

(With agency inputs)