Supreme Court to decide on transfer of Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath disputes to Allahabad High Court

A plea in the Supreme Court has sought the transfer of fifteen pending cases related to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque dispute to the Allahabad High Court.

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice on the plea and indicated that the question of whether High Courts should act as an appellate forum to decide and appreciate evidence would be considered.

The Bench was hearing an interim application (IA) in an appeal filed by the Muslim parties against the Allahabad High Court verdict upholding a January 31 Varanasi court order by which the Hindu parties were allowed to offer prayers in the southern cellar/basement of the Gyanvapi Mosque.

The High Court had remarked that it was illegal on the part of the Uttar Pradesh government to stop Hindu prayers by way of an oral order in 1993.

The Supreme Court had in April refused to stay the Varanasi court order.

It had ordered the parties to maintain status quo at the Gyanvapi premises, holding that for now, the Hindu priest conducting the puja will enter from south and pray in the cellar, and Muslims will pray in the northern side, where they enter from.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for one of the parties, submitted that the transfer of the cases to the High Court would help avoid conflicting orders and allow a bench of three judges to comprehensively decide the matter.

Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, opposing the transfer, argued that such a step could set a precedent requiring similar disputes across the country to be transferred to High Courts and burdening them.

He highlighted that these cases include matters like the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey and disputes over sealed areas of the Gyanvapi complex, which are already pending in higher courts.

Ahmadi also stressed that these suits prima facie violated the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which protects the status quo of religious sites as of August 15, 1947.

Ultimately, the Court determined that all related cases could be listed and decided together on December 17.

The matter arises out of 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 the family of one Somnath Vyas 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 have always had possession over the Mosque's building.

The main dispute over the Gyanvapi compound involves a claim by the Hindu side that a section of an ancient temple on the land was destroyed during the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century.

On the other hand, the Muslim side has maintained that the Mosque predated Aurangzeb's reign and that it had endured various alterations over time.

The Hindu parties have claimed in their suit that the Hindu character of the land in question did not change even if the temple structure was later torn down on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's orders to erect a mosque.

They have sought the restoration of the ancient temple (Lord Vishweshwar temple) there, and defended their 1991 suit on the ground that the dispute predated the Places of Worship Act.

Follow our detailed coverage of the dispute, here.