On Friday, CJI N.V. Ramana said he would examine and consider listing a petition to halt an advocate commissioner’s inspection, survey, and videography of premises inside the Gyanvyapi mosque in Varanasi on the orders of a local court.
In an oral mentioning, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the mosque’s caretakers, asked the court for an urgent listing of their case seeking a status quo order.
Despite the fact that the mosque is protected under the Places of Worship Act, Mr. Ahmadi claims the survey was ordered.
Mr. Ahmadi requested that the status quo be maintained.
“Let me look over the case papers… How am I going to pass orders now? I’ll read the orders and then pass them on. “We’ll look into it and put it on the list,” the CJI said.
CJI heard a plea against the verdict of the local court
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed in the local court by five Hindu women. They had demanded daily access as well as the right to pray at a Hindu shrine outside the mosque’s western wall.
The mosque committee’s request to replace advocate commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra was also denied by the court. The committee accused him of being “biassed” in favour of the Hindu plaintiffs, but the court dismissed their claim.
The court also appointed two more advocate commissioners to assist Mr. Mishra with the videography: special advocate commissioner Vishal Singh and assistant advocate commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh. It had given the commission until May 17 to complete its investigation and submit a report to the court.
The court had also given the local government the authority to remove any obstacles to the inspection and videography.