Varanasi district court will hear the civil dispute over the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Viswanath temple complex today.
The court is expected to first hear from the Muslim side seeking rejection of the civil action’s claims against the Gyanvapi Mosque.
On May 24, lawyer Madan Mohan Yadav stated “The court has stated that the matter on Order 7 Rule 11 will be heard on May 26. A copy of the videography and photographs will be made accessible as per the court’s ruling. On the same day, all pending applications will be heard.”
The district and sessions judge AK Vishvesha will begin hearing the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s challenge to the Hindu parties’ suit’s maintainability.
The court has also ordered that all interested parties register objections to the commission’s findings on the mosque grounds.
While scheduling a hearing on the maintainability of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex case, District Judge AK Vishevesh stated that the matter will be heard in accordance with Supreme Court directions.
As part of plaintiff Hari Shankar Jain’s team, Ranjana Agnihotri is slated to argue.
The court also handed both Hindu and Muslim sides a week to file objections to the results of a court-mandated videography study of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, according to District Government Counsel Rana Sanjeev Singh.
According to Hindu petitioners’ lawyer Vishnu Jain, on May 24, the court ordered both sides to register objections to the commission report and submit the report within one week.
The Hindu side claims a Shivling (a depiction of Lord Shiva) was discovered inside the mosque, while the Muslim side claims the structure is part of the mosque’s wuzu khana area’s fountain.
Meanwhile, a legal petition was filed a few days earlier in a civil court in Varanasi, requesting the right to pray on the mosque grounds.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed by Kiran Singh, the main case would take a long time to be tried and Hindu worshippers should be allowed unrestricted access to the mosque premises in the interim. On Wednesday, a civil judge in Varanasi transferred the case to a fast-track civil court, which will hear the case on May 30.
