In a significant legal development, the Allahabad High Court on Friday refused to impose an interim stay on a Varanasi district court’s decision that permitted Hindu devotees to offer prayers within the Gyanvapi Mosque’s southern cellar.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal presided over the proceedings, in which the Muslim party was given until February 6 to revise their legal challenge. The committee is contesting the district court’s decision, which they argue, was made without adequate consideration of their objections.
At the heart of the dispute is a January 17 decision that appointed a District Magistrate as a receiver, a precursor to the January 31 order facilitating Hindu rituals in the mosque’s basement, known as the Vyas Tehkhana.
Justice Agarwal emphasized the necessity for the Muslim party to challenge this initial order for their plea against the latter decision to be considered viable.
The Hindu respondents, led by advocate Vishnu Jain, contended that the mosque committee’s appeal against the January 31 order was untenable without first addressing the January 17 decision. Jain also distinguished between the immediate plea for worship rights and the broader legal battle over the Gyanvapi compound’s religious identity.
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