Varanasi court seeks responses on Hindu women's plea to worship inside Gyanvapi mosque

The court was hearing a petition filed by five women, Rakhi, Lakshmi, Sita, Manju and Rekha, seeking a declaration from the court that they are entitled to have darshan, worship and perform all rituals for the Hindu deities inside the mosque.

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): A local court in Varanasi had sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government, Gyanvapi mosque committee and the board of trustees of the Kashi Vishwanath temple over a plea filed by five local women seeking permission to worship the deities inside the Gyanvapi Mosque.

The court was hearing a petition filed by five women, Rakhi, Lakshmi, Sita, Manju and Rekha, seeking a declaration from the court that they are entitled to have darshan, worship and perform all rituals for the deities inside the mosque. Accepting the petition, the court sought a report and directed that notice be issued to the District Magistrate, Varanasi and the Commissioner of Police within three days.

It was argued in the petition that both visible and invisible images of Goddess Ganga, Lord Hanuman, Sri Gauri Shankar, Lord Ganesha, Sri Mahakaleshwar, Sri Maheshwar, Sri Devi Shringar Gauri and other deities have appeared within the old premises of the mosque.

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In the plea, filed on Wednesday, it has been mentioned that the temple complex was converted into a mosque during Mughal rule in the region. The plea, led by a Hindu woman Rakhi Singh, said that the devotees have the right to worship the deities, visible or invisible, inside the complex of Old Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Their advocates, Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain argued in court that the original Kashi Vishwanath temple complex was destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb during his regime.

Jain further added that the defendants should be ordered not to interfere in the fundamental religious rights of the plaintiffs' which included decorating idols of Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman, Devi Gauri and Nandi in the temple.