Fresh suit seeks appointment of receiver for Gyanvapi cellar, nod for puja
The plaintiff, Shailendra Kumar Vyas, also urged the court to direct the receiver to allow the plaintiff, co-pujaris and devotees to perform puja in the cellar (tahkhana) existing in Gyanvapi.
VARANASI: A fresh civil suit was filed in the court of the civil judge senior division, Varanasi, on Monday urging the court to appoint the Varanasi district magistrate or any other suitable person as receiver of the cellar (tahkhana) on the southern side of Gyanvapi mosque.
The plaintiff, Shailendra Kumar Vyas, also urged the court to direct the receiver to allow the plaintiff, co-pujaris and devotees to perform puja in the cellar (tahkhana) existing in Gyanvapi.
Simultaneously, the plaintiff filed an application in the Varanasi district court, urging it to transfer the matter to itself (Varanasi district court). The district court fixed September 26 (Tuesday) as the next date of hearing.
Advocates Vishnu Shankar Jain, Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi and Sudhir Tripathi filed the fresh suit on behalf of Vyas and the application for transferring it to the district court.
Chaturvedi said, “The southern basement has been in the possession of Vyasji’s family for years. After the year 1993, this basement has been barricaded by the orders of the state government.”
Currently, due to the ongoing ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) survey in the Gyanvapi complex, the door of this basement located in front of Nandiji is open, said the plaintiff, alleging that under these circumstances, the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which looks after the Gyanvapi Masjid, can take it over.”
“Therefore, we filed a fresh suit in the court of civil judge senior division, with a prayer to appoint the district magistrate Varanasi or any other suitable person as receiver of the cellar (tahkhana) in the southern side of Gyanvapi. We also prayed to the court to direct the receiver to allow the plaintiff, co pujari and devotees to perform puja in the cellar. Simultaneously, we filed an application in the Varanasi district court, urging the court to transfer the fresh suit to the district court.”
Chaturvedi said the Varanasi district court fixed September 26 as the date of hearing.
Akhlaque Ahmad, counsel for the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, said, “We will file an objection against the plea seeking transfer of the fresh suit to the district court.”
