HC adjourns hearing till May 10

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Thursday adjourned the hearing in the Kashi-Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque issue of Varanasi till May 10.

Justice Prakash Padia was hearing a petition filed by the Anjuman Intazamia Masjid of Varanasi and other connected matters.

Earlier in the day, when the hearing resumed before the Allahabad high court the counsel appearing on behalf of the temple argued that the property in dispute is not a waqf property, and the provisions of the Waqf Act are not applicable here.

It was further argued that when the Waqf Act of 1995 came into force, there was a provision under the aforesaid Act that the waqf property be again registered but the property in dispute has never been re-registered under the Waqf Act, 1995. Therefore, the property in dispute is not a waqf property and the provisions of the Waqf Act are not applicable, added the counsel appearing on behalf of the temple.

The original suit was filed in 1991 in the Varanasi district court, seeking restoration of the ancient temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque currently stands. The plea has been taken in the suit that the said mosque is a part of the temple.

At one stage, the civil judge (senior division), fast track court (FTC) of Varanasi, had on April 8, 2021 directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the 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 ASI to “conduct a comprehensive physical survey” of the KVT-Gyanvapi Mosque complex and further proceedings of this case.

The high court on March 24, 2022 had directed to hear this case along with all connected matters on a regular basis till their conclusion.