The management committee of Gyanvapi structure in Varanasi, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, has filed an urgent application before the Allahabad High Court on Monday seeking a stay on April 8 judgment of a local court in Varanasi, allowing an archaeological survey of the entire complex by the Archaeological Survey of India. The petition contends that the order was passed ‘illegally and without jurisdiction.
The plea filed by senior advocates Farman Ahmad Naqvi and Syed Ahmad Faizan claims that the lower court overlooked the entire written submissions and applicability of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 and Order 7 Rule 11D of the Civil Procedure Code.
The management committee of the #GyanvapiMasjid in #Varanasi, has filed an urgent petition before the #AllahabadHighCourt seeking a stay on the April 8 judgment of a local court in Varanasi, allowing an archaeological survey of the entire complex by the @ASIGoI. pic.twitter.com/mzZLtjeoNl
— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) April 13, 2021
Representing Anjuman Intezamia, counsel Farman Ahmad Naqvi said, “We have filed the petition and requested the court to hear us on an urgent basis as our petition is serious in nature.”
The petition also points out that the Allahabad High Court had already reserved its judgment in this matter, but the Varanasi court has been hearing the contentions of the opposite party.
“It seems that the learned civil judge concerned is more interested to skirt all judicial disciplines and ethics as well as procedures of law and to establish himself as above the judicial hierarchy as defined under the Civil Procedure Code and had assumed himself as the sole authority to decide upon the entire issue without looking into the legal impediment and bar,” the petition says.
Meanwhile, the Sunni Waqf Board is in the process to file an appeal against the Varanasi court order on Tuesday. UP Sunni Central Waqf Board chairman Zufar Farooqui said, “We support Anjuman Intezamia. The Sunni Board will also move the Allahabad High Court against the Varanasi civil court order on Tuesday.”
Varanasi district court gives its nod for ASI survey of the Gyanvapi structure
Earlier this month, the Varanasi district court allowed the ASI to conduct an archaeological survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex. The mosque itself has been erected over the original Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
A local lawyer, VS Rastogi had filed a suit in the district court demanding that the land on which the Gyanvapi Mosque stands be restored to Hindus since the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1664 had pulled down a portion of the 2000-year-old Kashi Vishwanath Temple to build the Gyanvapi Mosque there.
Gyanvapi Mosque was built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after destroying the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The remnants of the ancient Hindu temple can be seen on the walls of the Gyanvapi mosque now. The temple was an earlier restoration of the original Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times in history. The current Kashi Vishwanath was built on a site adjacent to the Mosque in 1780.