SC refuses to stop puja in 'Vyas Tehkhana' of Gyanvapi mosque

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Monday declined to stop the performance of 'puja' in the 'Vyas Tehkhana' (in the southern cellar of the structure) of Gyanvapi mosque.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court declined to stop the performance of 'puja' in the 'Vyas Tehkhana' (in the southern cellar of the structure) of Gyanvapi mosque. However, the apex court ordered status quo on the religious observances by the Hindus inside the mosque premises.

The mosque committee had moved the apex court against the Allahabad High Court order, which declined to entertain Muslim side’s plea against the Varanasi district court’s order and allowed the performance of 'puja' in the 'Vyas Tehkhana' (in the southern cellar of the structure) of Gyanvapi mosque.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it will be appropriate to issue notice on the mosque committee’s plea. The bench said the tehkhana’s access is from the southern side and access to the mosque for offering namaz is from the northern side. “Bearing in mind the fact namaz is being offered unhindered by Muslims, and the pooja and worship by Hindu priests is confined to tehkhana, therefore it would be appropriate to maintain the status quo….”, said the bench.

“It is important to maintain the status quo, so that both communities can perform religious worship in above terms….", said the apex court, in its order.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, submitted that with the greatest respect, this is an extraordinary order passed by the trial court and then by the high court, and the effect of the order is to give final relief at the interim stage.

Ahmadi said they have occupied the place and the puja is taking place. He stressed that effectively the status quo ante as of 1993, that is of 30 years ago, is restored by the interim order of the court. The masjid committee expressed its apprehension before the apex court that the Gyanvapi mosque is being taken over bit by bit. “An overwhelming case is made out to stay this order…..the fact that any pooja was conducted in the cellar is also an averment….now there are applications pending for other areas to do things…..the serious apprehension is that bit by bit we will lose the entire mosque”, said the mosque committee’s counsel.

During the hearing, the CJI observed that the court can allow the namaz to continue since the access is from the northern side of mosque and the worship in the southern cellar can continue. The CJI added that if this were to be the position, then the court can issue notice and schedule the matter for hearing in July

Ahmadi insisted that his case is for absolute stay and if the court is allowing it for now, then there are other applications filed to stop namaz. Divan, representing the Vyas family, contended that this is not even a case for the court to issue notice and added that it is an interlocutory order which was confirmed by the high court by sound reasoning. Divan said that the 'tehkhana' and the mosque are at different levels and there are separate entrances.

Divan pressed that at the interlocutory stage, the apex court should not interfere and added that for generations Vyas family has been the pujari and pointed that the court has not granted final relief. Divan disagreed that the puja in the cellar could potentially create discord and added that both the district court and the high court passed well-reasoned orders while allowing Hindu devotees to offer worship under the supervision of a court-appointed receiver.

Divan pointed that the entry to the mosque for namaz is from the northern side and the entrance to the cellar is from the southern side, and added that the puja is going on since January 31, and there is no prejudice caused and no case is made for interference by the apex court. Divan insisted that the cellar was always with the Vyas family and it is recognized on a map prepared by the secretary of the state.

Ahmadi submitted that he is reminded of what Soli Sorabjee said " dark deeds are committed in the dark hours", and question haste shown by the state government and insisted that there should be some procedural fairness.

Ahmadi said once the puja starts, and it goes on for a long time, it will be very difficult to restore the status quo ante. Concluding the arguments, Ahmadi said there is an American expression "salami tactics" and bit by bit, piece by piece, I am losing the mosque. He said the wuzukhana, which was there for centuries, is now lost and now they want to enter tehkhana.

After hearing detailed submissions, the bench directed that the status quo on the site shall not be disturbed without any further order of the apex court. The CJI said the matter will be heard in detail in July.

“For present, we are ensuring that both namaz and puja are offered in terms of the orders passed by the district court on January 17, 2024, and January 31, 2024. We will hear the case in detail at a later stage,” the bench told Ahmadi.

During the proceedings, the apex court also went through a google earth image of the mosque premises that was adduced by Ahmadi. The bench said that the issue regarding whether the courtyard surrounding the mosque is a part of the waqf property or not can be adjudicated at a later stage.

The mosque committee moved the apex court challenging the Allahabad high court’s decision on February 26, dismissing its appeal against a previous order of a district court that granted Hindus the right to worship in the cellar.

On January 31, district judge AK Vishvesha (since retired) granted the family of a late priest the right to resume prayers in the southern cellar of the mosque after three decades. The district judge had said that the petitioner Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas and a priest appointed by the Kashi Vishwanath trust, which manages the temple next door, will be allowed to enter the premises.

Vyas had argued that his maternal grandfather, Somnath Vyas, also a priest, performed rituals in the cellar until their cessation in December 1993, halted during Mulayam Singh Yadav’s chief ministership following the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

The Hindu side was represented by senior advocate Shayam Divan and advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain.

During the hearing, Ahmadi argued that the state government which is not even a party to the case, implements the order at the dark hours of the night, and the puja is performed that very night of the order, and it prevented his client from seeking stay.

Ahmadi said it cannot be that because the trial court order is implemented with hot haste by the state, his client cannot seek stay. Ahmadi said his apprehension is this, every day the puja is going on and the cellar is on the mosque premises. The bench queried there were two locks apparently? Where were the locks? Ahmadi said assuming they had possession, they did not do anything for 30 years and stressed, where is the ground for interim relief after 30 years?

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