Muslim parties seek SC nod for 'wuzu' at Gyanvapi during Ramzan

New Delhi, April 6

Muslim parties on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission for “wuzu” or ablution inside the Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath disputed premises — where a Shivling was reportedly found — during the month of Ramzan.

Senior counsel Huzefa Ahmadi mentioned the matter before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud which agreed to take it up on April 14. The top court is scheduled to hear on April 21 the Hindu parties’ plea seeking clubbing of all suits on the dispute pending before a Varanasi court.

Some Hindu devotees have filed a civil suit claiming the right to worship on the Gyanvapi mosque premises on the ground that it was a temple where Hindu deities were still visible.

During a court-ordered survey, a Shivling was reportedly found and on the basis of the survey report, Hindus claimed that the object discovered at the site was a Shivling even as Muslims said it was a water fountain.

The Supreme Court had on May 20, 2022, transferred the civil suit to the District Judge, who on September 12, 2022, held that the suit was not barred under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

On November 17 last year, a Varanasi court found the suit filed by Hindu parties seeking rights over Gyanvapi mosque maintainable. The Allahabad High Court had in December last year reserved its order on an appeal filed by the Committee of Management of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid against the trial court’s order.

After a Varanasi court rejected the Hindu parties’ plea for directions to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific investigation to ascertain if the object found during the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises was a Shivling or a fountain, the matter has reached the Allahabad High Court.

The High Court has sought the opinion of the ASI Director General as to whether carbon dating, ground penetrating radar, excavation and other methods to determine the age of the disputed object at Gyanvapi mosque would damage the object.