Gyanvapi Mosque: Allahabad High Court stays ASI survey, proceedings before lower court

The Allahabad High Court has stayed the proceedings before a Varanasi lower court in the Gyanvapi-Kashi land dispute case, including the order which allowed a survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). (U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board v. Ancient Idol Of Swayambhu Lord).Single judge Justice Prakash Padia said that the proceedings before lower court were prima facie bad in law, as the High Court was already seized of an issue relating to the dispute and had reserved its judgment on the same."The court below should not have proceeded and decided the application filed by the plaintiffs in the Original Suit for survey by Archaeological Survey of India. In the opinion of the Court, the Court below should wait for the verdict in the petitions pending before this Court and not to proceed further in the matter till the time a judgement is delivered." the court held .With regard to the decision by the Varanasi court, the court said that judicial courtesy and decorum warranted such discipline which was expected from the Court below but for the unfathomable reasons, neither of the courses were taken. "It is to be regretted that the court below departed from this traditional way in the present case and chose to examine the question himself. I have said so with the fond hope that judicial enthusiasm should not obliterate the profound responsibility that is expected from the Court below." the court added .While staying the proceedings of the court below, the court said that High Court can interfere in exercise of its power of superintendence when there has been a "patent perversity in the orders of tribunals and Courts subordinate to it or where there has been a gross and manifest failure of justice or the basic principles of natural justice have been flouted".Senior Advocate, S.F.A. Naqvi, appearing for the petitioner argued that once the Court below had full knowledge in respect of the pending proceedings before this Court, the court below should have defer the matter in place of deciding the application.Further, it was submitted that interim order which was also granted in the petition in the year 1998 as well as subsequent interim order granted in the year 2020 are continuing even today and in spite of the same, the court below proceeded to decide the issues..On the other hand, Advocate Ajay Kumar Singh, counsel for the respondents submitted that there was no interim order of Allahabad High Court and only the judgement was reserved on 15.03.2021.It was further submitted that the interim order granted in the petition filed in the year 2020 came to an end on 05.01.2020 and as such the court below rightly decided the application on 08.04.2021. .After pursuing the records and material placed on record, the court allowed the application and stayed the entire proceedings before the court below..The plea before the local court had demanded the restoration of the land on which the Gyanvapi Mosque is located to Hindus on claims that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had pulled down a portion of the 2000-year-old Kashi Vishwanath Temple to build the Gyanvyapi Mosque there in 1669. The suit was opposed by the Gyanvyapi Mosque Management Committee.The Varanasi court had, however, ordered an ASI study.Subsequently, a plea was filed before the High Court challenging the order of the Varanasi court.The petition was moved by Senior Advocate SFA Naqvi, assisted by Advocates Ahmed Faizan and Punit Gupta, contending that the Varanasi court had allowed the ASI survey, despite the fact that the Allahabad High Court had already reserved its judgement on the maintainability of the suit before the Varanasi court..The order allowing ASI survey was passed by Civil Judge (Senior Division) at Varanasi Civil Court, Ashutosh Tiwari on April 8, 2021..[Read judgment]