Court seeks govt response on plea to ‘restore’ temple at site of Gyanvyapi Mosque

A district court in Varanasi has sought replies from the Centre, Uttar Pradesh government and six other parties in relation to a plea filed by the devotees of Lord Shiva for the restoration of prayers and construction of a '”new temple” building at the ancient temple site where the Gyanvapi Mosque currently stands.

Apart from the Union home ministry and the state government, the court has issued notices to the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Varanasi, UP Muslim Personal Law Board, committee of management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid and the board of trustees of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Statements have to be filed by the parties by April 2, and the next hearing has been fixed for April 9.

In the suit, the petitioners, the followers of Sanatan Dharma and devotees of Lord Shiva have asked the court to pass an order that will allow devotees to offer prayers to the deities including Lord Hanuman, Goddess Maa Gauri and other associate deities, along with the Lord Adi Visheshwar (Lord Shiva) within the disputed area that they claim belongs to Lord Shiva and was demolished on the orders of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in 1669, albeit only partially, and the remnants of the old temple can still be seen on the walls of the Gyanvapi Mosque that came up on the site.


The petitioners have also asked the court to pass an order disallowing the defendants to interfere with the construction of a new temple building after demolishing the existing structure at the disputed site.

The move by the Varanasi district court comes even as another court in Mathura is hearing a similar plea in relation to the Krishna Janmabhoomi site.