The Allahabad High Court will continue to hear on Wednesday the Gyanvapi masjid management's revision petition challenging a Varanasi court order on the maintainability of the case filed by five Hindu women who sought permission to offer regular prayers to idols of deities in the mosque compound.
The hearing of the case was resumed on Tuesday. However, after a brief hearing, Justice JJ Munir directed to list the case on November 23 for further hearing.
The Varanasi district court had on September 12 dismissed a plea by the mosque committee Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM) which challenged the maintainability of the suit filed by the five Hindu plaintiffs.
AIM had in the petition cited the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which states that the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, must be maintained.
The Varanasi district court said the 1991 Act does not apply in this case -- where the devotees are seeking permission for daily worship of the idols they say are installed in the mosque premises. Already, they are allowed to offer prayers there once a year.
Challenging this order, the AIM filed the current revision petition before the high court.
(With PTI Inputs)
