Gyanvapi mosque row - Court to continue hearing matter tomorrow: 10 points

The hearing in the Gyanvapi Mosque-Shringar Gauri temple case was adjourned till Tuesday after the court heard both sides on Monday. After the debate that lasted for about two hours, both the parties put their points in front of the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar in Varanasi.

Varanasi: The hearing in the Gyanvapi Mosque-Shringar Gauri temple case was adjourned till Tuesday after the court heard both sides on Monday. After the debate that lasted for about two hours, both the parties put their points in front of the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar in Varanasi.

Five women filed petitions asking to be allowed to pray at the shrine behind the mosque after which the local ordered for a survey last month.

Here are 10 points to understand this story so far:

1. The videography and survey exercise is being done on the court’s earlier order on the plea by Delhi-based Rakhi Singh, Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu and others seeking permission for performing daily worship of deities Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman and Nandi whose idols are located on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque.
2. The woman had moved the court with their plea on April 18 and had sought to stop the opponents from causing any damage to the idols.
3. On April 26, the court directed the advocate commissioner to start survey and videography after Eid. The court appointed Ajay Kumar Mishra as the advocate commissioner in this case directing him to visit the site in the presence of both parties to prepare a report of the actual status and submit it before the next hearing on May 10.
4. The court-appointed commissioner and his team visited the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri temple complex in Varanasi on May 8 and but were not able to conduct the survey as the management committee of the mosque opposed it.
5. Following it, the mosque management committee (Anjuman Intezamiya Masajid) had appealed to change the court-appointed commissioner.
6. Abhay Nath Yadav, the counsel for the mosque management committee, had told the mediapersons that the court had not given any order to do the videography inside the mosque but to do it till the 'chabutra' (courtyard) outside the barricading.
7. One of the petitioners, Rakhi Singh, as per reports, had withdrawn her petition, however, on Monday she denied it while speaking to reporters.
8. Advocate Sohanlal Arya of the plaintiff said that the court had given a clear order, but it was not followed. "We were not even allowed to reach there for the survey. On Saturday, people from the Muslim side came and stood at the door of the mosque inside the premises. Because of this the survey work was stopped."
9. On the other hand, Ekhlaq Ahmed representing the other side did not participate in the survey at the moment. "We have informed the Advocate Commissioner about this. The survey was stopped due to non-involvement of one of the parties," he said.
10. The Varanasi court heard the arguments from both sides on Monday with the hearing to continue tomorrow as well.