Prayagraj: Allahabad High Court has completed the hearing in the case involving a plea challenging Varanasi court's permission to perform puja at the basement of 'Vyas Tehkhana' of the Gyanvapi mosque in Allahabad. Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal has reserved the judgment after hearing both parties.
During the hearing on Thursday, the Muslim side questioned the authority of the District Magistrate and also the justification of the plaintiff's suit while the Hindu side argued that the Muslims have never offered namaz at the site where puja was performed.
Senior Supreme Court advocate CS Vaidyanathan presented arguments on behalf of the Hindu side for about 40 minutes. He said that the basement is situated on the right side of Gyanvapi mosque and Hindus had been worshiping here till 1993. Under CPC Order 40 Rule 1, Varanasi Court has appointed DM as a receiver of the property, he said adding that the order of worship does not affect the rights of Muslims in any way because they never offered namaz at the basement. When the court appointed Varanasi DM as a receiver, he complied with the court's order.
Countering this, senior advocate Syed Farman Ahmed Naqvi, on behalf of Anjuman Intejamia Masjid, said that the Hindu side did not present Sections 151 and 152 of CPC correctly. He argued that appointing the DM as a receiver is creating a conflict of interest. It also pointed out that there is a big flaw in the order of the District Judge and he should have used his discretion well.
He mentioned that the Vyas family had transferred their puja rights to the Kashi Vishwanath Trust and so had no right to file a suit to worship after 32 years. Naqvi questioned how the DM, who is already an ex-officio member of Kashi Vishwanath Trust, be appointed as a receiver. The Hindu side should have accepted that the DM is a part of the trustee board. He said that the DM cannot work impartially while acting as a court-appointed receiver.
This apart, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board's advocate Puneet Gupta said that the district judge held a press conference a week after his retirement and is appreciating his decision. In such a situation, it is not wrong to question the intentions of his decision, he said. Hindu side's lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain said that the DM not only followed the court's order but also made arrangements for 'wudu' rituals in the mosque premises during namaz.
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