The ‘Vyas ka tekhana’ part of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi, which was previously sealed, is now open for prayer for Hindu petitioners, a local court decided on Wednesday. The judge further stated that all preparations, including taking down the barricades, must be finished within a week. The court also declared that priests from the Kashi Vishwanath Temple should lead prayers.
“Hindu side allowed to offer prayers… district administration will have to make arrangements in seven days. Everyone will have the right to pray there,” Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer for the four Hindu women petitioners in this case, said.
It is anticipated that the mosque committee will appeal this ruling to a higher court.
Within the basement of the mosque are four ‘tekhana’, or cellars. One is still owned by the priest family who had resided there. The family had contended that they should be permitted to enter the building and conduct pujas because they are inherited priests.
According to the petition, the priest, Somnath Vyas, used to perform prayers till 1993 when the cellar was closed.
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It had earlier been claimed debris from statues of Hindu gods was found during a survey of the area. It had also been claimed parts of a pre-existing structure – ruled as a temple by the ASI report – including pillars, were used in building the mosque.
The ruling issued today follows the request made by the four Hindu ladies to the Supreme Court a day earlier for the excavation and scientific examination of a “shivling” that was purportedly discovered within the mosque complex’s enclosed “wazukhana” region.
The Archaeological Survey of India, or ASI, was ordered by the Supreme Court to seal this area in 2022, but the Hindu side has since urged the court to allow the ASI to do another survey of the “wazukhana” area without endangering the “shivling.”
The Allahabad High Court dismissed all of the mosque committee’s petitions last month, in a decision that was significant since it addressed civil actions that sought the reconstruction of the temple at the location.
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