Gyanvapi Mosque case: Allahabad HC rejects pleas against suits seeking ‘restoration’ of temple

HC dismisses 5 petitions filed by mosque committee & Waqf Board, including one questioning maintainability of a 1991 suit filed by Hindus seeking right to worship in mosque compound.

Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi | ASI

New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court Tuesday dismissed five petitions that had challenged civil suits seeking the restoration of a temple at the site of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.

Among the suits being challenged was one filed in 1991 by Hindus who sought the right to worship in the mosque compound, which is adjacent to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

This was challenged by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the management committee that oversees the Gyanvapi Mosque.

Fighting alongside the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, the mosque committee’s main argument was that the suit by the Hindu parties was barred by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 — which restricts altering the character of religious places as they existed on 15 August, 1947.

This was rejected Tuesday, with Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal holding that suit is not barred by the 1991 law and allowing the temple restoration plea by Hindus. He said the masjid compound “could have either a Muslim character or a Hindu character” and that this could not be decided at the stage of framing issues.

Justice Agarwal asked a Varanasi trial court to decide this case within six months as it had been pending for over 30 years.

The suit before the Varanasi court seeks to restore an ancient temple at the disputed site, currently occupied by the Gyanvapi Mosque. Hindu petitioners have contended that the mosque was part of a temple.