Gyanvapi: Allahabad HC to give judgement today on pleas challenging survey

Prayagraj, Dec 18: The Allahabad High Court is likely to pronounce its judgment on Tuesday on five petitions challenging the maintainability of a civil suit pending before a Varanasi court seeking the restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists. The petitions 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. The Archaeological Survey of India on Monday submitted before the Varanasi Court, its report on the scientific survey of Gyanvapi mosque premises. (PTI)