Gyanvapi case: Allahabad High Court dismisses Muslim side's plea in dispute over Varanasi complex ownership
Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), December 19: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed petitions filed by the Muslim side challenging the admissibility of a civil suit concerning the ownership of the Varanasi Gyanvapi complex. This ruling also addressed the validity of the High Court's order for an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey.
The Allahabad High Court's decision rejected pleas by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, contesting a total of five suits related to the Gyanvapi title dispute. Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board argued that the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act of 1991 prohibited the suit.
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During the hearing, the court acknowledged a batch of petitions, including one challenging a 1991 civil suit filed by Hindu worshippers seeking the right to worship at the Gyanvapi mosque. It emphasised that civil suits are not barred by the Places of Worship Act.
Vijay Shankar Rastogi, a lawyer involved in the case, said there were five pending writ petitions in the High Court, two of which were filed by UP Sunni Waqf Board and Anjuman Intezamia Masjid. These petitions contest the suit's admissibility and were in opposition to the 1998 judgment of the District Judge, Varanasi.
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Ashok Kumar Singh, president of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, hailed the verdict as "historic", given the prolonged pendency of the matter. He noted that the Muslim side retains the option to approach a higher court.
Last month, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court's decision to transfer the case concerning the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi Mosque dispute to another Bench from a single-judge Bench. An appeal by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid against the administrative decision of the High Court Chief Justice's transfer order was dismissed by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra.
- PTC NEWS
