Court Allows Performing Pooja in Gyanvapi ​Masajid ( Vyasji Ka Tehkhana )

Varanasi district court on 31st January 2024, allowed people to perform pooja in the cellar on the southern side, also known as the ‘Vyasji Ka Tehkhana’, in the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court has directed the district administration to arrange for pooja to be performed by the Hindu side and a priest nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.

Meanwhile, the Muslim side, represented by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, has said they would challenge the order in the higher court.

Timeline of Gyanvapi Case

Here is a timeline of the Gyanvapi case with details about what happened and when:

• 2021: A case was filed by five Hindu women seeking the court's permission to conduct daily prayers at “a shrine behind the western wall of the Gyanvapi mosque complex” and protection of the idols.

• May 16, 2022: A commission appointed by a local court completed a videographic survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque. During the survey, a structure was found inside the mosque premises, which the Hindu side claimed to be a “shivling”, and the Muslim side claimed to be a “fountain”.

• July 21, 2023: Varanasi district court ordered a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex to find out whether the mosque was “constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple”.

• August 4, 2023: Survey by the ASI resumed amid massive security arrangements after the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court allowed it, dismissing pleas filed jointly by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee for Gyanvapi mosque and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.

• December 11, 2023: Varanasi district court granted one more week to the ASI to submit its findings of the court-ordered scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises. Earlier, extensions were granted on September 6, October 5, November 2, November 17, and November 30.

• December 18, 2023: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) submitted its report on the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises in the Varanasi district court.

• January 25, 2024: Hindu and Muslim sides got a copy of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report containing its findings of the court-ordered scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.

• January 29, 2024: Four Hindu women moved to the Supreme Court seeking the excavation and scientific survey of a sealed section of the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi. The development came four days after an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report concluded that a large Hindu temple existed before the construction of the mosque