Gyanvapi case: Mosque committee moves SC against continued sealing of ablution tank during Ramzan

A committee that manages the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on Thursday moved the Supreme Court against the continued sealing of the wazu khana or ablution tank, in the premises, PTI reported.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee urged the court to take up the matter for hearing soon as the holy month of Ramzan is underway.

In May, a Varanasi civil court had allowed for a video survey of the mosque, which found that an oval object was present on the premises.

The Hindu litigants claimed that the object was a shivling, a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the caretaker of the mosque, however, claims that the object is a fountainhead in the wazu khana, or ablution tank.

Based on the plaintiff’s submission, the civil court ordered the area where the oval object was found to be sealed. On May 17, the Supreme Court had directed that the spot be protected, but that Muslims should not be restricted from offering prayers at the mosque.

The court on November 11 extended its interim order.

At Thursday’s hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that the matter is slated to be heard on April 21. He then suggested to Ahmadi that he could file an interlocutory application in the matter. An interlocutory application is a plea filed in court after the main proceedings have started.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said that such an application could be listed on April 14.

The case pertains to a plea filed by five women petitioners who claimed that an image of the Hindu deity Shringar Gauri exists at the back of the western wall of the mosque. They demanded that they be allowed to offer daily prayers and observe other Hindu rituals at the site.

The mosque management committee had approached the Supreme Court after the Varanasi court’s order to seal a part of the premises.