Allahabad High Court reserves verdict in plea by Muslim side challenging permission to Hindus to pray in Gyanvapi mosque cellar

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday reserved verdict in a plea filed by Muslim parties challenging a Varanasi court order allowing Hindu parties to offer prayers and puja in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque..Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal concluded hearing the arguments and reserved the verdict..The plea was filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging a January 31 district court order permitting the conduct of Hindu prayers in the southern cellar or basement (tekhana) of the Gyanvapi Mosque.The said order was passed amid an ongoing civil court case involving conflicting claims over the religious character of the Gyanvapi compound.Among other claims, the Hindu side has said that Hindu prayers were earlier offered by Somnath Vyas and his family in the mosque's cellar until 1993 when the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government allegedly put an end to it.The Muslim side has opposed this claim and maintained that Muslims always had possession over the mosque's building..During the hearing today, Senior Advocate SFA Naqvi appearing for Gyanvapi Mosque committee argued that the district judge made a crucial error while appointing the district magistrate (DM) as receiver."District judge has made a crucial error…he wanted a certain result and therefore the order was passed...".Naqvi further emphasized that there was a clash of interests, by appointing DM as receiver."By appointing DM as receiver the clash of interests is there because as per the Act, DM is ex-officio member. He has to perform duties. Whether DM can do all these things? If permissible then whether there is a clash of interest? Under the guidance of defendant no 2, the DM has to perform puja. There is a direct clash as to how DM he has to behave. As receiver how and then how he has to behave as trustee. All these three things are colliding with each other…" he said..Advocate Vishnu Jain, appearing for the Hindu side, submitted that the document filed by them suggested that the tehkhana/southern cellar was always in their possession."No written statement has been filed and no application for extension of time has been filed…the documents which have been filed it prima facie shows that we were in possession of tehkhana…they(mosque committee) were not in possession," he said.