Court Can Adjudicate on Historical Wrong: A Win for Kashi Temple Lawyer?

The Allahabad high court recue in the Gyanvapi mosque case had submitted a petition by the council of Kashi Vishwanath Temple that if a historical wrong had been done in the past, the matter could be adjudicated by the court.

After hearing the petition filed by the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, the case was adjourned to the next hearing on July 15.

Details of the case:

The first complaint was filed in the Varanasi district court in 1991, which seeks the restoration of an ancient temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque is built presently.

Further in 2018, the Varanasi court ordered a five-member committee comprising two Hindu, two Muslim members and an archaeological expert, to oversee a ‘comprehensive physical survey’ of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The petitioners challenged the order, stating that it was illegal and without jurisdiction as the HC had earlier reserved its judgment on the maintainability of the suit pending in the Varanasi court.

The counsel for the petitioner had taken the plea that the suit itself is not maintainable under Section 4 of the ‘Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, as it is not allowed to file any suit or any other legal proceedings with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship existing on August 15, 1947.

As no claim could be made regarding a religious place which existed on August 15, 1947, no relief was sought for changing the status of any religious establishment as it existed on August 15, 1947 said the petitioner’s counsel. Hence, the counsel argued that the order for the survey was illegal.

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