VARANASI: The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid — the Gyanvapi mosque management committee — on Wednesday submitted in the court of civil judge, senior division (fast-track court), Mahendra Kumar Pandey that the issues related to Gyanvapi mosque property could be heard at the Waqf Board’s Lucknow tribunal only as it was a waqf property.
The FTC was hearing a petition of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) to seek the right to worship the purported ‘shivling’ found in the ablution pond of the Gyanvapi mosque during court commission survey on May 16 and ban on entry of Muslims in the Gyanvapi compound.
The VVSS, which is backing the plaintiff no. 1 in case no. 18/2022 Rakhi Singh vs state of UP and others to seek the right to daily worship Shringar Gauri and other deities in Gyanvapi mosque compound, had filed another petition with the above pleas after the discovery of the 'shivling'.
Additional district government counsel (civil) Sulabh Prakash said the FTC will continue hearing in this case on Thursday. “The AIM is challenging the maintainability of petition seeking ban on entry of Muslims in Gyanvapi mosque, handing over Gyanvapi premises to the Hindus and permitting regular ‘puja-archana’ (worshipping) of Lord Aadi Visheshwar," he said.
AIM lawyer Akhlaque Ahmed said, “On the issue of the jurisdiction of waqf property, we mentioned in the court that the petition can be heard only the Waqf Tribunal as Gyanvapi mosque is a waqf property.”
VVSS chief Jitendra Singh Visen’s wife Kiran Singh is the plaintiff in this case.
