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The Allahabad High Court on Thursday ordered that the arguments in the case(s) related to the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque dispute of Varanasi shall continue on regular basis till its conclusion from March 29. 

The bench of Justice Prakash Padia passed the order while hearing a petition moved by the Anjuman Intazamia Masazid, Varanasi last year seeking a stay on the proceedings before the Varanasi court.

Before the Varanasi local court, the Ancient Idol of Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar and 5 others had filed a suit in 1991 seeking removal of the Gyanvapi Mosque and restoration of the land to Hindus.

Notably, the proceedings in this suit before the Varanasi local court have already been stayed by the high court. The lower court order whereby the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was directed to conduct a survey of the Mosque complex has also been stayed.

The same bench had held in September 2021 that the court below should wait for the verdict in the petitions pending before the High Court and not proceed further in the matter till the time a judgment is delivered.

On Thursday, Advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi appearing on behalf of the contesting respondents (Ist A.D.J. Varanasi and others) submitted before the court that the petitioner (Anjuman Intazamia Masazid Varanasi) initially filed an application under Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Civil Procedure Code for rejecting the plaint (of the Ancient Idol of Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar and 5 others) but he did not press the same for a considerable time and instead of pressing the aforesaid application, he chose to file written statement in the plaint.

Rastogi further submitted that on the basis of pleadings in the suit, the issues were framed by the trial Court. He said that "it is clear from the averments of the plaint that the property in question, i.e. the temple of Lord Visheshwar has been in existence from ancient time, i.e., Satyug up till now and the Swayambhu Lord Visheshwar is situated in the disputed structure, therefore, the aforesaid land in dispute is itself an integral part of Lord Visheshwar."

He also argued that the temple irrespective of its shape and size, the ground floor cellar is still in possession of the plaintiff which is the structure of the old temple built prior to the 15th Century.

Rastogi pressed the argument that the religious character of the place of worship remained the same as on the day of August 15, 1947, therefore, the provisions of the Place of Worship Act, 1991 cannot be applied in this case. 

However, due to paucity of time, arguments could not be concluded on Thursday, and accordingly, Court adjourned the matter till 2:00 pm on March 29 from when the matter will be heard on a regular basis till its conclusion. 

Case Title: Anjuman Intazamia Masazid Varanasi v. Ist A.D.J. Varanasi And Others