Four plaintiffs seek transfer of ‘Shivling’ suit to Varanasi dist court
VARANASI: The lawyers of the four plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case have moved an application before the Varanasi district judge to transfer the Adi Visheshwar Virajman case, pending before the fast track court of the civil judge (senior division) to the court of the Varanasi district judge.
The plaintiffs have said the two cases can be clubbed as they are of a similar nature. In the Adi Visheshwar Virajman case, Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) has sought permission to worship the Shivlinglike structure found on the Gyanvapi complex during a survey. It has also sought a ban on the entry of Muslims in the Gyanvapi complex.
This transfer application was moved on November 15 before the court of the Varanasi district judge under Section 24 (1) (b) of CPC (Civil Procedure Code) by Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak. All four women were plaintiffs in the Shingar Gauri-Gyanvapi case that was filed by five women in August last year, seeking permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Gyanvapi complex. “It would be in public interest if the suits of similar nature raising the identical issues of facts of law are tried together by the same court to prevent the multifariousness of proceedings and contradictions in judgments on crucial issues and to maintain the appellate/revisional equally for all. In case the suits are tried together, the public time, money and avoidable difficulties of legal nature may not arise,” the application stated.
The district judge in-charge ordered that the transfer application be registered as a miscellaneous case and the details of the case sought to be transferred be forwarded to the court of the district judge, Varanasi, from the fast track court/civil judge (senior division).
However, the transfer application was strongly opposed by VVSS. “It’s purely an attempt to quash the case. It was a preplanned move, especially when the verdict in the case is expected on November 17,” said VVSS chief Jitendra Singh Bisen.