HC allows suit seeking restoration of temple at Gyanvapi mosque site

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed all five pleas challenging the maintainability of a civil suit pending before a Varanasi court seeking restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said the suit filed in 1991 before a Varanasi court is maintainable and not barred by the Places of Religious Worship Act, 1991.

The court said the suit before the lower court should be decided within six months.

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which looks after the management of the Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi, has challenged the maintainability of the suit filed before the Varanasi court, wherein the Hindu side plaintiff has sought restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists.

While the Hindu side plaintiff contended that the Gyanvapi mosque is a part of the temple, the primary contention of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board was that the suit is prohibited by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which prohibits the conversion of a religious structure from its nature as it stood on August 15, 1947. DV