Puja At Gyanvapi's 'Vyas Ka Tehkhana' To Continue As Allahabad HC Refuses Plea For Interim Stay

The Allahabad High Court on Friday (2 February) refused to grant interim stay on the Varanasi court order allowing Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case to perform 'puja' inside the cellar of the disputed structure.

The Allahabad high court granted time till 6 February for the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC), which challenged the district court order, of Gyanvapi mosque to amend its pleadings to include a challenge to a 17 January order consequent to which the 31 January order was passed, Bar and Bench reported. 

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Earlier on Thursday (1 February), the mosque committee moved the Supreme Court against the Varanasi court order. However, the apex Court asked it to approach the High Court.

This comes after the members of a Hindu priest's family started praying at the disputed site on Thursday, 30 years after it was sealed on the orders of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The Varanasi district court had on Wednesday yesterday allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers at 'Vyas Ka Tehkhana' inside the Gyanvapi complex. The 'Vyas ka Tehkhana' (Vyas's cellar) is located right in front of Lord Nandi at the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex.

The Gyanvapi structure has four 'tehkhanas' (cellars) in the basement out of which one is still in possession of the Vyas family who used to live there.

Till November 1993, puja used to be conducted in the basement. However, the Hindu side claimed, that the then-state government stopped the worship and prayers in December 1993, and also removed the priests who conducted the puja there.

After the court's order, Hindu devotees started reaching the disputed site to pray in the cellar late at night, according to NDTV. Members of a Hindu outfit, Rashtriya Hindu Dal pasted the 'mandir' (temple) word on a signage near the site.

Heavy force was deployed to prevent any untoward incident as the puja started around 3 am on Thursday.

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