The Supreme Court on Thursday, 19 May, directed the district court in Varanasi to desist from taking any action on the matter related to the Gyanvapi mosque in the city, including on a new application for demolition of a wall in the mosque near its wazukhana, till the apex court concludes its proceedings on Friday, 20 May.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud was scheduled to hear the pleas by the masjid committee against the orders of the Varanasi court on Thursday, having issued notice two days previously.
However, the lawyer for the Hindu devotees who filed the case in Varanasi requested an adjournment as the advocate who had been briefed to appear for them had suffered an asthmatic attack.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the masjid committee, was amenable to an adjournment on this ground, but requested the court to pass an order stopping the Varanasi court from taking any action in the meanwhile.
The bench agreed and said that in light of the agreement to take up the matter in the apex court on Friday,
"We direct the trial court to strictly act in terms of the arrangement and to desist from taking further action in the suit."
A three-judge bench of the court comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and PS Narasimha will hear the matter at 3 pm on Friday, 20 May.
You can follow all updates from inside and outside the courtrooms on The Quint's live blog on the Gyanvapi Mosque issue here.
What is This Case About?
Five Hindu women have sought round-the-year access to pray at “a shrine behind the western wall of the mosque complex”. The site is currently made open for Hindu prayers once a year.
A Varanasi court had in April ordered a video inspection of the site, but the survey could not take place as the mosque committee opposed the videography inside the mosque, and accused Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra of bias and demanded his replacement.
The local court, however, on Thursday, 12 May, ordered that the survey work will continue, and instead of replacing Mishra, appointed two more lawyers — Vishal Kumar Singh and Ajay Singh — to accompany him.
The Allahabad High Court refused to stay this order despite it being argued by the masjid committee that the mosque was protected by the Places of Worship Act 1991, resulting in the pleas at the Supreme Court.
On Monday, 16 May, the Varanasi court ordered the sealing of part of the mosque on the basis that a 'Shivling' had been found on the premises. This order was also challenged by the masjid committee on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 17 May, issued notice on pleas challenging the orders of a district court regarding the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, and passed an interim order that while the area within the mosque where an alleged 'Shivling' was said to be found should be protected, Muslims must not be restricted from entering and praying in the mosque.
Following this interim order, the Hindu plaintiffs, through their advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed an application in the Varanasi court have sought the razing of the wall and the removal of the resulting debris, in order for a further survey of the area where the alleged 'Shivling' was found.
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