The developments come at a time when the Muslim side, led by the Anjum Intejamia committee, approached the Allahabad High Court to challenge the decision
Our Bureau
Varanasi/New Delhi/Lucknow
In a dramatic development on Thursday, after the Varanasi Court allowed Hindus to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex, devotees flocked to the ‘Vyas ka Tehkhana’ inside the complex in Varanasi to offer prayers. A Varanasi Court on Wednesday allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the ‘Vyas Ka Tehkhana’ area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
After the Varanasi Court allowed the Hindu devotees to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex, the barricades of Vyas Ka Tehkhana (basement) of the mosque were opened, and daily arti and puja were performed early in the morning on Thursday.
The mosque has four ‘tahkhanas’ (cellars) in the basement, of which one is still in the possession of the Vyas family, who used to live there. According to Vishnu Shankar Jain, the Hindu side lawyer, Mangla Arti was performed at 3:30 in the morning and bhog was done at 12 p.m. “Timings for Aarti at Vyas cellar. Daily 5 aarti –Mangla- 3:30 am, Bhog- 12 pm, Apranh- 4 pm, Sanykaal- 7 pm, Shayan- 10:30 pm. 2 done so far,” Jain said in a post on X.
The court had asked the district administration to make the necessary arrangements within the next seven days. The developments come at a time when the Muslim side, led by the Anjum Intejamia committee, approached the Allahabad High Court to challenge the Varanasi Court’s decision. The Hindu side has filed a caveat before the High Court, demanding that it be heard before the plea is taken up.
Muslim side lawyer Akhlaq Ahmed said, “The order has overlooked the Advocate Commissioner report of 2022, ASI’s report, and the decision of 1937, which was in our favor. The Hindu side has not provided any evidence that prayers were held before 1993. There is no such idol in the place.”
The court had asked the district administration to make the necessary arrangements within the next seven days.
Meanwhile, Jitendra Nath Vyas a member of the Vyas family who has been allowed to offer prayers inside the mosque located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi said he was very happy to pray at the Tehkhana again. “We are very happy that we have got the permission to resume puja there,” he said.
The Vyas family member said that he along with priests performed puja in the basement in the presence of district officials. “At the time of the puja, five priests of the (Kashi Vishwanath) temple trust, members of the Vyas family, Varanasi DM and Commissioner were present there,” he said.
The developments come at a time when the Muslim side led by the Anjum Intejamia committee approached the Allahabad High Court to challenge the Varanasi Court’s decision. The Hindu side has filed a caveat before the High court demanding that it be heard before the plea is taken up.
After the Varanasi district court allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers at the Gyanvapi mosque complex, Kashi Vishwanath Trust President Nagendra Pandey on Wednesday said that today’s decision raises hopes that one day the entire complex will be Hindu.
In view of today’s decision given by the Varanasi district court, Pandey distributed sweets among his family members and congratulated everyone. “Today’s decision raises hopes that one day the entire complex will be ours. After today’s court order, we will talk to the district administration tomorrow,” Pandey said.
He said that earlier, prayers were offered at the ‘Vyas Ka Tekhana’ area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex. “Earlier prayers were offered at the ‘Vyas Ka Tekhana’ area. There are enough priests in the Vishwanath temple; among them, any five will be assigned to offer puja in the Gyanvapi mosque complex. They will perform ‘aarti’ and offer ‘bhog prasad’,” Pandey said.
Meanwhile, the Hindu side on Monday filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking the de-sealing of the ‘wazukhana’ area in the Gyanvapi complex, following the Archaeological Survey of India’s survey findings at the mosque. The ‘Wazukhana’ was sealed in 2022 following a Supreme Court order.
In its plea filed by Vishnu Shankar Jain, the Hindu side advocate has asked the top court to allow the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out another comprehensive survey in the ‘wazukhana’ area without harming the ‘Shivling’.
The survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises began after the Allahabad High Court rejected the petition filed by Muslim litigants seeking a stay on the Varanasi court’s order for a scientific survey by the ASI.
ASI, during the survey, started on August 4, used ground-penetrating radar and other scientific instruments to ascertain what lay beneath the surface of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.
The team also surveyed the inner and outer walls, the cellar and other parts of the premises barring the ‘wazukhana’ (the place where Muslims perform ablution before proceeding to offer prayers).
