The Supreme Court declines to halt Hindu prayers in the southern basement of the Gyanvapi mosque

The Supreme Court declined to halt Hindu prayers in the lower chamber of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.

On Monday, the Supreme Court chose not to interfere with Hindu prayers occurring in the southern section of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Nevertheless, the court did instruct that the current state of religious practices by Hindus within the mosque grounds be upheld.

Citing LiveLaw, the bench stated, "Considering that Muslim prayers have been undisturbed following the orders of January 17 and January 31, and Hindu worship by priests is confined to the area of tehkhana, it is deemed appropriate to maintain the current state to allow both communities to worship under these conditions."

Furthermore, the bench emphasized, "The current state, as outlined above, should not be altered by either party without prior approval from this Court."

The Supreme Court has scheduled the Gyanvapi mosque committee's petition against the permission for Hindu rituals in the mosque's southern chamber for final resolution in July.

Previously, the Allahabad High Court rejected the mosque committee's petition challenging the Varanasi district court's decision on January 31 to permit Hindu prayers in the cellar. On February 26, the high court dismissed the mosque committee's plea, declaring the Uttar Pradesh government's 1993 prohibition of worship in the "Vyas Tehkhana" as illegal. It ruled that the cessation of worship rituals was done unlawfully by the state without any written order and rejected two appeals from the mosque management committee contesting the Varanasi district judge's orders of January 17 and January 31.

The district court mandated the continuation of worship in the "Vyas Tehkhana" of the mosque, situated adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

According to findings from a court-commissioned survey conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), it was revealed that the Gyanvapi mosque was constructed during the rule of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, built upon the foundations of a Hindu temple. On January 31, the district court ruled that a Hindu priest was permitted to lead prayers in the presence of idols situated in the southern chamber of the mosque.

Presently, the prayers are being administered by a Hindu priest appointed by the Kashi Vishwanath temple trust, alongside petitioner Shailendra Kumar Pathak, who asserts that his maternal grandfather Somnath Vyas, also a priest, performed prayers in the chamber until December 1993.