Prayagraj, 26 February: Anjuman Intejamia Masajid’s appeal against Varanasi District Judge’s January 17 judgment giving worship rights to Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust in Gyanvapi’s Vyasji basement has been denied by the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal issued this ruling on Monday. The district judge designated DM Varanasi as receiver (caretaker) of property, and on January 31, he authorized puja at Gyanvapi’s Vyasji Basement.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal, while dismissing both appeals against these orders, stated that after reviewing the documents relevant to the case and hearing the views of the parties involved, the court has directed District Judge Varanasi to designate DM Varanasi as receiver of property on January 17. Court found no reasons to interfere with District Judge Varanasi’s January 31 decision of January 17 designating DM Varanasi as receiver of the property and allowing puja in the Vyasji basement.
The Allahabad High Court on Monday ruled that the Mulayam Singh government’s 1993 decision to halt Hindu prayers in one of the vaults of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque was “illegal,” dismissing a plea challenging a lower court judgment that permitted the prayers to resume after 30 years.
Following the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, the cellar, known as Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana, was shut. Soon after the destruction, then-chief minister Kalyan Singh resigned, and his cabinet was later ousted, opening the door for President’s rule. A government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav assumed power after the Assembly elections next year. The state administration subsequently used law and order concerns, and the underground temple was shut.
Last month, the district court issued an order permitting Hindu prayers to resume in the crypt in response to a plea by Shailendra Pathak Vyas. Vyas then stated that his family has been praying in the cellar since the British rule.
The Vyas family’s worship and rituals, which lasted in the cellar until 1993, were terminated by the state’s illegal action without a written order, according to today’s high court verdict.
“Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees religious freedom. The Vyas family, who continued to practice religious devotion and rituals in the cellar, could not be refused admission under oral orders. A citizen’s right granted by Article 25 cannot be taken away by arbitrary State action,” the order stated.
According to the decision, Shailendra Pathak Vyas claims that the cellar has been in his family’s ownership since 1551 and has produced records demonstrating how it has been passed down through generations.
The court noticed that the 1936 map presented by the state government depicted Vyas ji ka tehkana. The court also found that the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which contested the district court judgment, had failed to demonstrate prima facie possession of the cellar.
The failure of the appellant to establish prima facie possession over the disputed property, combined with the plaintiff’s success in building a strong prima facie case negating the appellant’s position, creates an undeniable situation in which stopping worship and ritual performance by devotees in the cellar would be detrimental to their interests, according to the court.
?Primarily, I believe that the State Government’s act of prohibiting the Vyas family and followers from performing religious worship and rites since 1993 is a continuing injustice,? Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal stated in the ruling.
The court also highlighted that an attempt was made to tarnish the lower court’s reputation “on the grounds that the officer concerned had passed the order on the last day of work.” It stated that the district court had previously requested that the administration take over in an order dated January 17, 2024, and that the January 31 ruling was only to remedy an error.
“Consider the overall representations given by the respective counsel of the parties and after analyzing the information on record, I conclude that the appellant has not brought out any basis for interfering with the decision dated 17.01.2024 and 31.01.2024 appointing the District Magistrate of Varanasi as Receiver. Preparing for worship and rites to be performed in Vyas tehkhana (cellar) under his supervision by the priest,” as instructed, the court ruled, noting that prayers in the cellar began on February 1.
