Don’t hear Gyanvapi case for now, SC tells Varanasi court

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Varanasi civil court to desist from hearing the Gyanvapi mosque survey case for a day, as it deferred the hearing to Friday in view of a request made by the lawyer for the Hindu petitioners.

A bench of the apex court, led by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, recorded the undertaking of advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represented the five Hindu women petitioners, and issued a directive to the Varanasi civil judge.

Jain submitted that the petitioners shall not press for a hearing before the Varanasi civil court on Thursday where a report on the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque was expected to be submitted by the advocate commissioner. The Hindu petitioners have also moved a fresh plea for demolishing a wall around a site where a “Shivling” was ostensibly found. Jain requested to defer the proceedings for a day on account of the medical condition of the leading counsel for the Hindu petitioners.

“We direct that the trial court to strictly act in terms of the arrangement and to desist from taking further action in the suit,” directed the Supreme Court bench, which also comprised justices Surya Kant and PS Narasimha.

Jain’s undertaking came after Huzefa Ahmadi, who represented Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, pressed for a stay of the proceedings before the Varanasi civil judge if the top court were to adjourn the hearing.

“There are applications have been filed even for sealing of those mosques. I would only submit that there should not be any further delay… My only apprehension is that today an application has been moved before the trial court to alter the wall near the wuzu khaana (ablution tank where the Shivling has been purportedly sighted),” argued Ahmadi.

At this point, Jain conceded that the Hindu petitioners will not proceed with the case before the Varanasi court till the time the Supreme Court hears the matter on Friday.

In view of the consensus, the bench directed that the Varanasi civil court shall hold its hands for a day and fixed the case for a hearing on Friday at 3 pm.

On Tuesday, the apex court had ordered that the section of the mosque complex where a Shivling was ostensibly found shall remain protected until further orders but Muslims will have the right to offer namaz in the mosque without any hindrance.

“If a Shivling is found, we have to maintain a balance. We will direct the district magistrate to ensure protection of the place without restricting Muslims from entering and offering namaz and other religious observances,” the bench had then said, as it heard the petition by the managing committee of the Gyanvapi mosque.

In its plea, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee demanded a stay of the proceedings before the Varanasi civil judge, on whose orders a day-to-day survey was carried out to inspect, conduct videography, and collect evidence regarding the alleged existence of idols of Hindu deities inside the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The committee also complained that the Varanasi civil court order of Monday seemed to impose a complete ban on the entry of Muslims in the mosque premises and from offering namaz there.

The bench, however, did not entertain the request made repeatedly by Ahmadi to suspend the proceedings before the Varanasi civil court until the top court decides the committee’s challenge to the validity of the survey.

“We have protected the spot where the Shivling was found. And we have clarified that this will not restrict the rights of Muslims. We think this is a balance…let us leave it at that… We are balancing everything. This is an interim arrangement,” the court told Ahmadi, who complained that the status quo has been disturbed by the order of the civil court on Monday by sealing a section of the mosque after lawyers representing Hindu petitioners claimed a Shivling was recovered during the survey.

Solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta appeared in the case for the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday, and clarified that the state and its officials were only acting as per the orders of the civil court, which directed the administration to protect the site where a Shivling was reported to be recovered. At the same time, the SG raised the issue of “law and order”, adding that the area where the Shivling has been reportedly found needs to be duly protected.

In its appeal before the top court, the committee argued that the suit filed by the five Hindu women, demanding an unhindered right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal — a shrine for Hindu goddess Parvati located behind the western wall of the mosque complex, is barred by the provisions of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

Challenging the April 21 order of the Allahabad high court allowing the survey, the petition added that the suit has the propensity of disturbing the communal harmony, warranting an intervention of the Supreme Court in the wake of the 2019 judgment on the Act.