PRAYAGRAJ: In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court, on Monday, directed a Varanasi court to dispose within eight weeks the petition seeking unrestricted right to worship the purported 'Shivling', found inside the ablution pond on Gyanvapi mosque premises during the court commission survey in May 2022.
Notably, an application to this effect has been pending in the civil judge (senior division), Varanasi, in a petition seeking a permanent injunction against the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid (AIM) restraining it to interfere in the worship of the purported 'Shivling'. Justice Manish Kumar Nigam passed the order over a petition filed by one Vivek Soni and another, who had approached the High Court urging an expeditious disposal of their interim application pending before civil judge (senior division), Varanasi since 2022.
In the suit filed in 2022, the plaintiffs had sought a permanent injunction against the respondents - the AIM -- so as to prevent any interference in the offering of ‘Bhoga, Prasada, Shayan Aarti, Mangala Aarti, garlanding, Dugdha Abhishek, Kirtan, etc.’, to the 'Shivling'-like structure found in the ablution pond which lies sealed in compliance of the Supreme Court of India.
The court, while disposing of the petition on Feb 27 said: “Accordingly, the present petition stands disposed of finally with a direction to the civil judge (senior division), Varanasi to consider and decide the interim injunction application (6C application) in accordance with law expeditiously, preferably within a period of eight weeks from the date of production of a certified copy of this order after giving opportunity of hearing to the parties concerned and without granting unnecessary adjournments to either of the parties provided that there is no other legal impediment.”
The 'Shivling'-like structure was found in the ablution pond during a court-monitored survey of the Gyanvapi complex in May 2022 conducted on a petition filed by five women plaintiffs in the original Shringar Gauri case. When the AIM approached the Supreme Court against this Survey, the apex court ordered sealing of the ablution pond area. The mosque committee had claimed it to be a fountain instead of the Shivling.