Varanasi: With the Varanasi court allowing Hindu worship inside the cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque, the mosque management has expressed resentment at the move with a member of the management accusing the judge of “achieving rewards” by “bringing the dignity of justice to its lowest level”. The court of District Judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha on Wednesday ruled that a priest can perform puja inside the cellar called as “Vyas ji's basement” by the Hindu side.
While the Hindu side has welcomed the court order they said has restored puja inside the cellar after a hiatus of 30 years, the mosque management has criticised the move. A post by MS Yasin, Joint Secretary of Anjuman Masajid Committee, which looks after the Gyanvapi Masjid, has surfaced on social media some time ago.
In the message, questions have been raised on the role of the court in the decision regarding the move. The post reportedly uploaded on Jan 31, the day when the court ruling came, the Joint Secretary of Anjuman Masajid Committee has put the judge in the dock over the ruling. In the post made on social media by MS Yasin, Joint Secretary of Anjuman Arrangements Masjid Committee, it has been written that while giving the decision on the lawsuit of Babri Masjid, “five people used to call him (the Varanasi District Court judge) 'My Lord'.
“Yes, he achieved rewards by bringing the dignity of justice to its lowest level,” Yasin wrote. “In the country where the justice of Jahangir used to be famous, the process of decline started. The current crisis of our Masjid Gyanvapi is also the result of this justice system. Ordering the ASI survey was the first step. We named it Judicial Karseva. On January 31, a few hours before his retirement, the order for judicial review was passed. The barricading was removed in the darkness of the night. It was in the dark of night that the idols were admitted into the southern basement of the mosque on the instructions of the constitutional authorities,” he added.
“This is a big test for the Constitution and those who believe in it. We are stumbling from door to door in search of justice. The Supreme Court distanced itself from such an important issue by sending the case to the High Court,”said Yasin. Pertinently, the court order allowing Hindu puja inside the Gyanvapi basement was passed by District Judge Varanasi Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha a day before his retirement.
While being the District Judge, Ajay Krishna Vishvesha had also ordered the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi complex. Dr. Ajay Krishna Vishwesh is originally from Haridwar. Born on 7 January 1964, he did B.Sc. in 1981, LLB in 1984 and LLM in 1986 from Senior Model School, Kurukshetra. His judicial service started on June 20, 1990.
His first posting was as Munsif Magistrate in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand. In 1991, he was transferred to Saharanpur. After this he became the Judicial Magistrate of Dehradun.
