Gyanvapi row: Allahabad HC to pronounce verdict on plea challenging puja at Vyas Tehkhana

The Allahabad High Court will pronounce its judgement on February 26 on a plea challenging the Varanasi district court's order allowing Hindu prayers at Vyas Tehkhana (southern cellar) of the Gyanvapi complex.

A bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal had reserved the judgment after hearing both parties on February 15.

The Varanasi district court had on January 31 ruled that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The mosque committee moved the court to challenge the verdict.

The whole dispute stems from the 'Somnath Vyas' tehkhana inside Gyanvapi Mosque premises. The Hindu side claims that until 1993, religious ceremonies were conducted in the basement. But, in compliance with a directive from the state government, the religious practices were discontinued.

The cellars mentioned in the Hindu side's latest petition were not surveyed during the recent scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex carried out by the ASI. The said cellars have not been accessed yet due to blocked entrances and debris, the petitioner submitted before the Varanasi court.

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