The Muslim side faced another setback in the Gyanvapi case after the Varanasi district court allowed Hindus to worship in the Vyas Cellar in the mosque complex, as the Supreme Court of India refused to hear their petition against the district court order. Hours after the Varanasi court delivered the verdict allowing worship of Hindu deities in the Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana (the basement cellar of the Vyas family), the Committee of Management, Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, Varanasi filed an urgent application on 31 January seeking status quo at the mosque site.
As per reports, the lawyers of the mosque committee approached the residence of a Supreme Court registrar yesterday night seeking an urgent hearing at night itself, raising the apprehension that pujas will be performed by Hindus inside the mosque during the night. In response, the registrar told them that he would get back to them after taking instructions from the Chief Justice of India.
In its application, the masjid committee alleged that the administration was acting in ‘hot haste’ to implement the court order and was allowing puja by Hindus at the night itself. They claimed that this action was pre-empting any legal challenge to the court order by the Muslim side.
The Muslim side wrote, “There is no reason for the administration to undertake this task in hot haste in the dead of the night as the order passed by the Trial Court had already given them one week to make the necessary arrangements. The obvious reason for such unseemly haste is that the administration in collusion with the plaintiffs is trying to foreclose any attempt by the Mosque Managing Committee to avail of their remedies against the said order by presenting them with a fait accompli.”
However, the Supreme Court rejected this plea and refuse to accept the petition, and asked the Masjid Committee to approach the High Court instead.
At around 7 AM today, the registrar informed the Muslim side that the CJI has declined to accept the petition. The registrar called committee’s Advocate-on-Record Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi on phone, saying the CJI DY Chandrachud has said that they have to approach the Allahabad High Court against the Varanasi court order, and they can’t go to the Supreme Court directly.
It is notable that hours after the district court order, the Vyas family offered puja in the Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana, as the administration opened the cellar just after midnight, and made arrangements for worship as ordered by the court. The administration created a pathway to the southern basement by cutting the iron grill that surrounds it, and opened the locks.
After that, the administration officials let the members of the Vyas family to enter the Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana to perform puja rituals. Idols of deities recovered in the cellar, details of which have been mentioned in the recently published ASI report and were in the custody of the district administration, were placed inside the cellar for the puja. The first rituals in the cellar after 31 years were conducted after the midnight and were completed around 3.30 AM. Later in the morning, women from the Vyas family entered the cellar for prayers.
Timings for aarti at vyas cellar
— Vishnu Shankar Jain (@Vishnu_Jain1) February 1, 2024
Daily 5 aarti
Mangla- 3:30am
Bhog- 12 pm
Apranh- 4pm
Sanykaal- 7pm
Shayan- 10:30pm
2 done so far
Next at 4pm
According to Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, regular full-fledged puja of the deities inside the cellar would commence in compliance with the district court order from Thursday onwards. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said that there will be 5 aartis daily at the Vyas cellar – Mangala Aarti at 3.30 AM, Bhog at 12 PM, Apranh Aarti at 4 PM, Sanyakaal Aarti at 7 PM and Shayan Aarti at 10.30 PM.
