Hindus are now allowed to pray inside the Gyanvapi mosque thanks to a local Varanasi court. Advocate representing the Hindu side, Vishnu Shankar Jain, confirmed the order, saying that everyone will be able to perform puja and that the district administration must make the appropriate accommodations within a week.
Furthermore, based on the findings of the Archaeological assessment of India assessment, the Hindu side has petitioned the Supreme Court to open the ‘wazukhana’ section within the Gyanvapi complex. On the orders of the Supreme Court, the ‘wazukhana’ had been shut in 2022.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report on the Gyanvapi Masjid case was previously approved by the court. The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi features a pre-existing Hindu temple, as proven by the ASI assessment report. What you need to know about the Gyanwapi case is as follows:
Release of the ASI Report
The district court in Varanasi received the ASI’s assessment results about the Gyanvapi mosque complex on December 18. This action followed the Supreme Court’s directive to finish cleaning up the Wazukhana area, which was a significant development in the legal proceedings related to the mosque.
Context of the Gyanvapi Mosque
Debates have revolved around the Gyanvapi Mosque; some people think it was constructed on top of the remnants of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Several legal cases have addressed various aspects of this controversy, including those filed in the Supreme legal, Allahabad High Court, and Varanasi District Court.
How Everything Started
The legal dispute began with a petition filed in Varanasi in 1991, which called for Gyanvapi land to be returned to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Aurangzeb was said to have ordered the mosque’s construction after demolishing a portion of the temple in the sixteenth century.
Case Reopened
Attorney Vijay Shankar Rastogi filed a petition in 2019 following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy. The court ordered the ASI to carry out a scientific survey, which set off a chain of court cases and responses.
Judicial Actions In
The court intervened in the case in a number of ways, including challenges to various orders, stays, and extensions. The Varanasi court proceedings were halted by the Allahabad High Court in 2021, with a focus on the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which prohibits modifications to a place of worship’s religious character beyond August 15, 1947.
Latest News on Gyanvapi
The Supreme Court temporarily withheld the Varanasi court’s previous demand for a “scientific investigation” by the ASI, involving excavation and ground-penetrating radar studies. The survey was started by the ASI in August 2023, and multiple extensions were given for the completion of the report.
The Gyanvapi Masjid issue is still a complex legal dispute with significant religious and historical ramifications. In settling this protracted case, the Varanasi court’s recent decision to release the ASI report represents a major step toward transparency.
