The proceedings regarding the Gyanvapi Mosque petitions are temporarily suspended till 8th October by Allahabad HC.
As the Gyanvapi Mosque appeal shifted from the district court to the High court, all earlier proceedings resulted in temporary suspension. The final proceeding of the case by Allahabad HC stayed till 8th October.
In April, the Varanasi District court approved an ASI survey to proceed further on the Gyanvapi Mosque appeal.
The plea stated that the Mosque was built on ancient temple ruins, demolished by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It originated from a 1991 case where the residents contended on the construction of the Mosque.
The location of Gyanvapi mosque is next to the famous Kashi Vishwanath shrine.
Proceedings of the Varanasi District Court
The Varanasi Court set a five-person committee of archaeology experts, with two belonging to the minority community. The committee had to work with the prime objective, finding any structural overlapping in the Mosque.
The court also said that during the survey period, Muslims will be still allowed to do their religious activity on the site, also with the briefing keeping the results private.
As the Waqf Board and the Gyanvpi Mosque trust were not satisfied with the District Court decision, they moved further to the Allahabad High court, challenging the proceedings.
Proceedings of the Allahabad High Court
As the proceedings were, the HC suspended the case on this basis of the Places of worship act. The act states a ban on the reformation of any religious places/places of worship as it existed on the 15th August 1947.
Apart from that, the high court also judged the district court hearing. The judge commented that the proceedings were questionable itself, the case could be easily barred, but still, the district court tried handling it traditionally.
Waqf Board comment on the Survey decision
Waqf Board lawyer Punnet Kumar Gupta Comment regarding the handling of the case by the district court and stated its passage without any jurisdiction.
According to the Waqf Board Chairman, Zuffar Ahmad Farooqui, the decision was beyond reality, as per the act. He added, there has been no production of any evidence regarding an existing temple at the site of the Mosque.
The final decision remains unclear, as the court would listen to the case again on 8th October.
