Hindu women’s plea on right to worship maintainable: HC on Gyanvapi

On September 12 last year, the district court had dismissed the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s challenge to the civil suit. “According to the plaintiffs, even after 15th August, 1947 they were worshipping Maa Sringar Gauri, Lord Ganesh and Lord Hanuman daily up to the year 1993. If this contention is proved then the suit is not barred by Section 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991,” it had said.

The mosque committee then filed a revision petition in the HC, which was dismissed by Justice J J Munir on Wednesday. The mosque committee had contended that the suit was barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and the Waqf Act.

“The court has upheld the district court order and said the suit filed by the women is maintainable,” said Advocate Syed Ahmad Faizan, who represented the mosque committee.

“This judgment has the potential to establish a precedent that could lead to an increase in frivolous lawsuits concerning disputes between Hindu temples and mosques. By entertaining their cleverly drafted claims that they are not explicitly seeking the religious conversion of the place or a change in its religious character, which is specifically barred by Section 4 of the Places of Worship Act, the court has opened up a Pandora’s box of legal challenges. In reality, what they actually want is not hidden from anyone here,” said Senior Advocate SFA Naqvi, who appeared on behalf of the mosque committee.

“Arguments in the case happened in November and December last year. The court had reserved its order on December 23 last year. The HC has now said that the suit is maintainable and worth hearing. The matter is being heard by the Varanasi district court and will continue there,” Advocate Har Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu women who filed the suit, told The Indian Express.

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, bars conversion of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. The mosque side had argued that the 1991 law bars the civil suit seeking right to worship in the mosque premises. The Hindu side argued that until 1993, regular worship of Maa Shringar Gauri was allowed in the “back side of Gyanvapi”. Since 1993, they said, the district administration of Varanasi restricted the entry to only once a year.

In May last year, the court-ordered videographic survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque had reported a structure, claimed to be a “shivling” by the Hindu side and a “fountain” by the Muslim side, inside the mosque premises.

Earlier this month, the Allahabad HC had set aside a lower court order and ordered a “scientific survey” including carbon dating of the “Shivling”. The court had passed the order in the same suit – filed by the women seeking the right to worship.

A week later, the Supreme Court, on May 19, deferred the implementation of the HC order. “These are matters where one has to tread a little carefully,” Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had said.