Varanasi: Moments after puja was started at the basement of Vyas ji of Gyanvapi complex last night, the Muslim side reached the Supreme Court to challenge Varanasi District's Court's order to allow Hindus perform prayer at the southern cellar of the mosque. The Muslim side, however, moved the Allahabad High Court following instructions of the apex court.
While hearing the petition of the Muslim side, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud refused to grant an immediate relief and instructed the petitioners to approach the Allahabad High Court. The Muslim side has now reached Allahabad High Court while the Hindu side is preparing to file a caveat in this matter.
Terming the incident as sad, MS Yasin, joint secretary of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, said, "Puja was started at the basement without informing us. We sent our lawyers and filed an application against this in the Supreme Court at 3 am itself. We were instructed to go to the High Court at night. One of our teams is filing an application in Allahabad High Court today. The Muslim side had demanded an immediate stay on the order of the lower court but the apex court asked us to go to the high court," Yasin said.
According to the joint secretary, the Registrar of the Supreme Court placed the demand of the Muslim side before the Chief Justice at 4 am in the morning. After seeing the paper, the Chief Justice asked the Muslim side to go to Allahabad High Court.
Advocate of the plaintiff, that is the Hindu side, Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi said efforts are on to file a caveat in the high court. "We are going to file a caveat in the high court in this case. Our lawyers are present there. We don't want the court to give its verdict without hearing us," he said.
On Wednesday, the Varanasi District Court directed the administration to make necessary arrangements within a week to conduct rituals related to the puja inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex that was stopped in 1993.
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