Hearing on petitions related to Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjid land dispute postponed till December 1
Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday postponed till December 1 the hearing on the petitions related to the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjid land ownership dispute. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud headed by Justice J.B. The bench comprising Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra could not hear the case due to paucity of time. The bench asked the parties to file a one-page note during this period.
The Anjuman Arrangements Mosque Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, has filed three separate petitions in the Supreme Court. In its first petition, it has objected to the appointment of the Court Commissioner for the survey of the Gyanvapi-Gaurishringar complex, saying that the order of the Varanasi Court is prima facie without jurisdiction. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque committee, said the appointment of the commissioner was not “correct” in terms of Order 26 Rule 9 of the CPC (Civil Procedure Code).
The second special leave petition challenges the Allahabad High Court order which allowed ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) to survey the premises of the Gyanvapi Masjid, except the ‘Wuzu Khana’. The Supreme Court had on August 4 refused to pass any interim order to stay the survey process after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that no excavation would be carried out at the site.
However, the top court had earlier stayed another order of the high court, which had directed the ASI to conduct a “scientific survey” to ascertain the age of the “Shivling” allegedly discovered at the Gyanvapi Mosque. In its third petition, the management committee has questioned the Allahabad High Court’s decision upholding the maintainability of the Hindu worshipers’ suit filed before the district court. In its controversial order passed on May 31, the High Court had dismissed the revision application filed against the rejection of the application under Order 7, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) by the District Judge.
