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A fast-track court in Varanasi today held a hearing in the plea by the Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) to prohibit the entry of Muslim devotees into the Gyanvapi mosque area. But since the VVSS wanted to make some changes to their petition, and a revised copy was handed over to the defendants, the case was adjourned till July 14.
Readers would recall that VVSS had moved a petition on May 24, demanding a ban on the entry of Muslims in the Gyanvapi premises. They had also demanded that the entire premises be handed over to Hindus, and that they be permitted to conduct prayers as per Hindu traditions in the premises. The petition was moved by Kiran Singh Visen, wife of VVSS president Jitendra Singh Visen as next friend of the deity Adi Vishveswar. This petition was originally moved before the court of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar, the judge who had originally ordered the video survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
But the Supreme Court transferred the wider Gyanvapi case from judge Diwakar to District Judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesha, asking him to first rule on the matter surrounding the maintainability of the suit as per provisions of Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). So, when the VVSS filed the petition demanding prohibition of access to Muslim devotees, judge Vishwesha transferred this specific petition on May 25 to the fast-track court of civil judge (senior division) Mahendra Kumar Pandey.
On May 30, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM), the committee that manages the Gyanvapi mosque, and who is the defendant in the case, was given a copy of the petition, so that they could file a response by July 8, that had been set as the next date. When both parties appeared on July 8, the petitioners intimated the court that they wanted to make a few changes to the petition and the revised copy was handed over to AIM.
Jitendra Singh Visen told Navbharat Times that a separate application has been moved before the court seeking permission to immediately commence prayers to the deity Adi Vishwesha. But the word “never” in the application was inadvertently typed as “ever”, leading to the adjournment. Now, the AIM is required to file their response by July 14.
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