Gyanvapi Mosque case: Supreme Court refuses to stay the HC order allowing Hindu parties to hold puja in the Southern cellar of the Mosque

Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of India refused to stay the order of the Varanasi High Court allowing Hindu parties to hold puja in the Southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque. It ordered the parties to maintain the status quo at the premises of the Gyanvapi mosque to enable both communities to perform prayers. The bench said, “The status quo shall not be disturbed by either of the parties without obtaining the previous sanction and leave of this Court.” The matter was heard today by a three-judge bench of the SC consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra. The bench ordered, “At this stage, bearing in mind the fact that ‘namaz’ is being offered by Muslim communities unhindered after the district court and High Court orders dated (January 17 and January 31), and that prayers in ‘tehkhana’ is limited to the Hindu priests, it is important to maintain the status quo, so that both communities can perform religious worship in above terms.” It further orally remarked that the arrangement would continue till the matter is finally decided. 

The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee represented by Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi expressed his apprehension before the top court and said “An overwhelming case is made out to stay this order…the fact that any pooja was conducted in the cellar is also an averment…now there are three applications pending for other areas to do things…the serious apprehension is that bit by bit we will lose the entire mosquee…”  During the proceedings, the CJI said “Are we correct to say that prayers in the South (by Hindus) do not impact prayers in the North (by Muslims). If this is correct…we can say let no further change happen in status quo. We say let namaz continue and worship in the south cellar can continue.” After hearing the contentions, the SC issued a notice to the Hindu parties on the filed appeal and listed the matter for further consideration in July 2024.