Seeking urgent intervention from the Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, senior lawyer Huzefa Ahmadi pleaded for a status quo in the case pending in the Varanasi Civil Court, which on Thursday ordered a daily probe into a mosque for inspection, lead Go through video footage and collect evidence regarding the alleged existence of Hindu deities in the mosque next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.“An investigation has been conducted in relation to the Varanasi property. This falls under the Church Sites Act. The court has now commissioned a court commissioner to conduct an interview. This has always been a mosque,” Ahmadi added.
The senior lawyer, who appeared for the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee that administers the Gyanvapi Mosque, pushed for a status quo order.But the CJI replied, “We haven’t seen the papers. We don’t even know what’s going on. I don’t know anything… how can I place an order. I will read and then give orders… let me see.In a lawsuit filed jointly by five Hindu women, the Varanasi court last month ordered the premises to be inspected by the Attorney General Ajai Kumar Mishra. The civil court order was upheld by the Allahabad Supreme Court on April 26.
Civil court ordered a full survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex
The women asked for year-long access to pray at a shrine behind the west wall of the mosque complex. The site is currently open for prayer once a year. The women also want permission to pray to other “visible and invisible deities within the ancient temple complex.” The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee filed a motion with the civil court to remove the Advocate Commissioner. A day ago, the civil court ordered a full survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex, rejecting the mosque administration’s demands to limit the survey to certain parts of the site and remove the current surveyor. The judge retained Mishra as the attorney commissioner, who was appointed last month to conduct the survey, while adding two other attorneys, Vishal Singh and Ajay Pratap Singh, to the commission which will investigate, film and gather evidence into the alleged existence of Hindu deities . It instructed Mishra and Vishal Singh to conduct the survey.
In his order, the civil judge clarified that the attorney commissioners have the right to collect evidence from any part of the mosque complex and that no one may be hindered in conducting this exercise.The court held the Varanasi District Judge and the Varanasi Police Commissioner personally accountable and ordered that the district administration and police work with the Lawyer Commissioners and ensure that the survey is completed as quickly as possible. It ordered that county officers and the police should be empowered to pick any lock if necessary.
“If anyone obstructs the exercise by the court commissioners, the county government must file a First Information Notice (FIR) and take strict action. Under no circumstances shall the exercise of judicial commissioner be suspended,” reads the court order requesting the Commission’s report on May 17.In his order, the civil judge also expelled the Varanasi district administration for failing to comply with the letter and spirit of the court’s order. The survey would have been completed by now if the district administration had shown its full cooperation.
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