THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, April 1: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to issue a stay on Hindu prayers being conducted in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ regarding the plea filed by the mosque management committee.
Furthermore, it issued notice to Hindu plaintiffs on an appeal by the mosque committee contesting an Allahabad High Court ruling regarding the worship of deities within the ‘Vyas Tehkhana.’
SC orders maintenance of status quo at Gyanvapi premises
In order to allow both the Hindu and Muslim communities to perform “puja” and “namaz,” a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered the parties involved to maintain the status quo at the Gyanvapi premises.
“At this stage, bearing in mind the fact that namaz is being offered by Muslim communities unhindered after the district court and High Court orders and that prayers in Tehkhana are limited to the Hindu priests, it is important to maintain the status quo, so that both communities can perform religious worship in above terms,” the bench said.
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On the plea of the mosque committee, the bench also asked for priest Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas’ response by April 30.
The Supreme Court has now slated the matter for a hearing in July.
Mosque committee challenged Allahabad HC ruling
The Supreme Court was reviewing a new petition filed by the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, contesting a ruling by the Allahabad High Court that upheld a lower court’s decision allowing Hindu prayers in the southern cellar of the mosque.
On February 26, the Allahabad High Court denied the mosque committee’s plea to overturn the district court’s decision from January 31 permitting Hindus to pray in the basement.
The high court, in its dismissal of the mosque committee’s plea, remarked that the Uttar Pradesh government’s 1993 decision to cease worship rituals within the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ situated in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque was illegal.
