A suit by Hindu litigants seeking permission to offer prayers at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi is in complete violation of the Places of Worship Act, the mosque management committee told a district court on Monday, Bar and Bench reported.

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991 stipulates that the “religious character” of holy places would remain the same as it was on August 15, 1947, the day of Independence. The only exception to the law is the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

At Monday’s hearing, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the caretakers of the mosque, made the argument in response to a petition by five Hindu women who have claimed that an image of the Hindu deity Shringar Gauri exists at the mosque and have sought permission to offer daily prayers there.

The mosque committee also referred to a case from 1937, when a court had ruled that the entire Gyanvapi mosque compound belonged to Muslims.

The Varanasi district court will hear the matter next on July 4.

The case

A court-appointed surveyor reported that an oval object had been found inside a tank at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Hindu petitioners claimed it is a Shivling, a symbolic representation of Hindu deity Shiva. Muslims, however, say that the object is actually a fountain.

On May 16, a trial court had directed district officials to seal the wazu khana, or ablution tank, in the mosque.

On May 20, the Supreme Court had ordered to transfer the proceedings from the trial court to the court of the district judge in Varanasi. The mosque committee had moved the Supreme Court challenging the trial court’s order to conduct a survey of the mosque.

The Varanasi district court is now hearing an application of the mosque committee arguing that the Hindu side’s petition to offer daily prayers at the mosque is not maintainable. The mosque committee has cited Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure which allows a petition to be dismissed if it does not show a cause of action or is barred by law.

On Saturday, the caretakers of the mosque had urged the district court not to release survey videos and pictures in the public domain. The mosque committee had noted that many persons, as well as news channels, have filed applications before the court to get a copy of the survey footage without being a party to the case.