Petition in court seeks worship of 'shivling' found in Gyanvapi premises

VARANASI: Two separate petitions were filed in the court of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar here on Tuesday. While one sought permission for performing ‘puja-archana’ (worship) of the ‘shivling’ found during the survey of Gyanvapi premises by the court commission on Monday, the other demanded demolition of walls of the basements in the premises and removal of debris for collection of more evidence in the matter.
Sadhvi Purnamba and Sadhvi Shardamba on Tuesday filed the first petition in the court, requesting permission for performing ‘puja-archana’ of the said ‘shivling’. The area where the ‘shivling’ has been found was sealed by the court's order on Monday.
The petitioners are the disciples of Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwaraka and Jyotish Peeth. They filed the petition through their lawyer Ramesh Upadhyaya. Upadhyaya said that the petition would be heard along with their old petitions.

In their petition, they said that in compliance with the order of the court, Lord Adi Vishweshwar was found in the form of a ‘linga’ during the commission survey on May 16. “Immediate permission should be given to start worship with religious rituals, because we Sanatani Hindus respect the deity as a living self after ‘pran-pratishtha,” they requested in the petition.
They had also filed a petition on May 10 in the same court, requesting to club all the cases related to Shringar Gauri and Gyanvapi for quick justice. The court ordered that the application be ‘put on fixed date’ for the hearing with the old petition (number 761 of 2021) on July 6. The plaintiffs of this case are Sadhvi Purnamba and others, while the respondents include Uttar Pradesh government and others. They have also requested daily worship of Shringar Gauri and other deities.

The other petition was filed by the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri case, demanding demolition of the walls of different basements in the Gyanvapi premises and removal of debris to cover areas hidden behind them under survey for collection of more evidence in the matter. However, the Anjuman Intejamia Masajid raised serious objections to it.
Taking note of this plea, civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar on Tuesday said that the hearing on this plea of plaintiffs would be done on Wednesday when special advocate commissioner Vishal Singh would also keep facts in this matter before the court.
The plaintiffs, including Manju Vyas, Sita Sahu and Rekha Pathak in the case of Rakhi Singh vs UP government and others, claimed that in the east of the place where the ‘shivling’ was found in the ‘wuzu’ pond of the Gyanvapi mosque, a door closed by a wall was quite evident. The northern wall of the basement of the mosque should also be removed to measure the size of the ‘Shivling’, it was pleaded.

The plaintiffs of the Shringar Gauri worship case are Rakhi Singh of Delhi, Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak, all natives of Varanasi, who filed the petition on April 18, 2021, seeking permission for daily worship and performing rituals at the idols of Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman and Nandi and stopping the opponents from causing any damage to the statues. The respondents of the case include Uttar Pradesh government, Anjuman Intezamiya Masjid and others.