A section of the Hindu community claims that the Jnanavapi Masjid adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built by demolishing the Hindu temple. A case was also filed in the lower court to collect that demand. It sought permission to establish temples and worship in place of mosques. A counter case was filed by the mosque authorities. They demanded that the case should be dismissed as per the Central Dharmasthan Act in 1991. The High Court rejected the claim and said that the civil case filed in the lower court of Varanasi in 1991 should be disposed of within the next six months.
In 1991, a case was filed in the Varanasi lower court seeking permission to worship on behalf of ‘Lord Adi Vishweshwar Virajman’ at the disputed site. The case was challenged by the mosque authorities and the Sunni Waqf Board. They claimed that the case was against the Dharmasthan Act of 1991. According to that law, the character of religious places of worship in the country cannot be changed on August 15, 1947. The only exception to that law was the controversial Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as that dispute was pending before the Supreme Court.
Hindu litigants argued that the Jnanavapi controversy had been going on since before independence. So it does not come under the Central Act of 1991. Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal said in his judgment on Tuesday that the case filed in 1991 does not come under the purview of the Central Act enacted that year. Hence the case is justiciable. The disputed mosque must have only one religious character—either Muslim or Hindu.
The Jnanavapi Masjid controversy has been much talked about lately due to the survey. A mosque survey was demanded in several cases by devout Hindus. Petitioners claim that there are many proofs that the mosque was built by demolishing the temple. On the walls of the mosque are the idols of Hindu goddesses. What the mosque authorities claim is a fountain for Azu, Hindus claim is actually a Shivalinga. For that, the lower court also ordered the survey of the mosque premises. Carbon dating of the fountain has also claimed to determine its age.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was in charge of the survey. The ASI submitted its report to the court in a sealed envelope last Monday. One day after that, the judgment of the Allahabad High Court came on Tuesday. This judgment is particularly significant at a time when Hindutva politics are in full swing in India. Especially on January 22, when the country is dressed up to celebrate the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Various Hindutva organizations including Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been agitating for the ‘liberation’ of Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura for a long time.