Gyanvapi mosque dispute: Allahabad high court rejects maintainability plea

NEW DELHI: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rejected petitions of Sunni Central Waqf Board and Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee regarding the ownership between Gyanvapi Mosque and Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.

The high court rejected the plea on five petitions challenging the maintainability of a civil suit that was pending before a Varanasi court seeking the restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists.

The petitions were filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board have also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.

On December 8, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had reserved judgment after hearing the counsels of the petitioners and the respondent.

The AIMC, which looks after the management of Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi, has challenged the maintainability of a suit filed before a Varanasi court, wherein the Hindu petitioners have sought restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque presently exists.

According to Hindu side plaintiff, the Gyanvapi mosque is a part of the temple.

However, the primary contention of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board is that the suit is prohibited by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which restricts altering the character of a religious places as it existed on August 15, 1947.

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