KV Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque case adjourned till March 29

PRAYAGRAJ : The Allahabad high court on Thursday adjourned till March 29, Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanwapi Mosque complex case, directing that the arguments shall continue thereafter on a regular basis till conclusion.

Hearing a petition filed by Anjuman Intazamia Masjid of Varanasi, Justice Prakash Padia fixed March 29, 2022 as the next date of hearing of this case.

During the course of hearing, on Thursday, the counsel on behalf of the temple, submitted before the court that the temple of Lord Visheshwar (Lord Shiva) has been in existence since ancient time i.e. Satyug and the idol is situated on the disputed structure, therefore, the aforesaid land is itself an integral part of Lord Visheshwar.

He further argued that the temple, irrespective of its shape and size, including the ground floor cellar is still in his (deity’s) possession, which is the structure of old temple built prior to the 15th century.

It was argued that the religious character of the place of worship remained the same as on the day of August 15, 1947, therefore, the provisions of Place of Worship Act, 1991 cannot be applied.

Section 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 bars filing of suit or any other legal proceedings with respect to conversion of religious character of any place of worship, existing on August 15, 1947.

To recall, the civil judge (senior division), fast track court (FTC) of Varanasi, had directed the ASI on April 8, 2021, to conduct a survey of KV TempleGyanvapi mosque complex to find out whether a temple was demolished to build the mosque that stands there adjacent to the KV Temple.

Subsequently, the high court, in the present case, had on September 9, 2021, stayed the Varanasi court’s order dated April 8, 2021, that directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to ‘conduct a comprehensive physical survey’ of the KVT-Gyanvapi mosque complex and further proceedings of this case.