Today, Varanasi District Judge Dr. Ajay Krishna Vishwesh gave a big decision in the Gyanvapi case. He gave the Hindu side the right to worship in the Vyasji basement. The puja will start in seven days in Vyasji basement. Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust and Vyas family will select the priest for the puja in the basement. Everyone can participate in the puja. In this regard, the court has ordered the district administration to make arrangements for the puja. The basement will be restored to its 1993 condition. After this decision, let us know what was the situation in the Gyanvapi Masjid complex in 1993?
In 1993, Dan Bahadur Singh was the President of Varanasi Bar Association. Dan Bahadur Singh’s grandson Nityanand Rai is also currently an advocate in Varanasi court. Giving information about this entire case, Nityanant Rai said that in the year 1991, the then Congress government had brought the ‘Places of Worship’ Act law in the Parliament, according to which, except the Ayodhya dispute, all the religious places in the country will be maintained to the best of their ability. Which was before 15 August 1947.
These 5 people had filed the case
Advocate Nityanant Rai told that when the Congress government made this law, Somnath Vyas, who was performing puja in the Vyasji basement of Gyanvapi complex, felt that in future, the right to perform puja would be taken away from them too. Regarding this, Somnath Vyas, Harihar Pandey and Ramrang Sharma, who was a professor at Sampoornanand University, went to Dan Bahadur Singh and Shankatha Tiwari, who were the President of Varanasi Bar Association at that time, and told about this decision of the administration.
In 1993, the administration closed the basement by barricading it.
Dan Bahadur Singh and Shankatha Tiwari filed a suit in Varanasi Civil Court on the petition of Somnath Vyas, Harihar Pandey and Ramrang Sharma. The case continued in the court. Somnath Vyas was also performing regular puja in the basement. During that time, the Ayodhya dispute took place in 1992. Since Varanasi’s Gyanvapi and Mathura dispute was also going on. In view of this, the administration closed Shringaar Gauri and the basement by putting barricades in the month of January 1993. After the barricading was put up, the puja which was taking place regularly also stopped.
Also read- Gyanvapi Case: Who is Varanasi District Judge Ajay Kumar Vishvesh? Big decision given a few hours before retirement
Only one day worship of Shringaar Gauri was allowed.
Advocate Nityanant Rai said that Somnath Vyas and other plaintiffs went to Allahabad High Court regarding this matter. The hearing of this case continued in the High Court for five years. In 1998, the High Court put a stay on this case. Pandit Somnath Vyas and Ramrang Sharma died a few years after the case was shelved. Only Harihar Singh was left as a party to this case. In the year 2007, the court gave permission to worship only Shringaar Gauri. That too once a year during Navratri, while Vyasji could not get permission to worship in the basement.
Who is fighting the old case now?
When Allahabad High Court stayed this case in the year 1998, there was no hearing on this case for almost 20 years. Vijay Shankar Rastogi, junior to Dan Bahadur Singh, who was the President of Varanasi Bar Association in 1993, came forward as a friend of the case in 2018 and continued the fight. Meanwhile, on August 18, 2021, five women filed a suit before the Civil Judge (Senior Division). The women demanded daily worship at the Shringaar Gauri temple built next to the Gyanvapi Mosque.
Also read- Who will now worship in the Vyas basement of Gyanvapi complex, where will the priests be from?
On the demand of the women, Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar had ordered a survey of the mosque premises. On the orders of the court, a survey of Gyanvapi Masjid was conducted in May 2022. After the survey, Hindu side’s lawyer Vishnu Jain claimed to have found Shivalinga here. However, the Muslim side claimed that this is not a Shivalinga, but a fountain which is there in every mosque. Later the Supreme Court handed over this case to the District Judge.
Shailendra Kumar Pathak had filed a petition regarding these two demands.
When five women filed a suit regarding the worship of Shringaar Gauri and a survey was conducted inside Gyanvapi, the issue of Gyanvapi again came into limelight. On 25 September 2023, Somnath Vyas’s grandson Shailendra Kumar Pathak filed a case in the court regarding the two demands of custody of Vyasji’s basement and worship. A hearing was going on in the court regarding this. On January 17, the court gave an order regarding the custody of Vyasji’s basement, in which it was said that the keys of the basement should be handed over to the Varanasi District Magistrate. After the court order, on January 18, the Anjuman Masjid Arrangement Committee handed over the keys of the basement to the DM.
Who was the custodian of Kashi Vishwanath Temple before the trust was formed?
On January 30, the debate between both parties Shailendra Kumar Pathak and Anjuman Intejamia Mosque Committee was completed in the court of Varanasi District Judge regarding the right to worship, on which on January 31 i.e. today, Shailendra Kumar Pathak’s side was allowed by the court to worship in Vyasji basement. -Got the right to recite. Shailendra Pathak, who fought this case, is from the Vyas family. He is the grandson of Somnath Vyas. Somnath Vyas is from that Vyas Peeth, which was the custodian of the entire temple before the formation of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.
Who is the Vyas family, who used to worship in the basement?
At present, Somnath Vyas’s grandson Shailendra Pathak lives in Shivpur, Varanasi. According to Shailendra Pathak, the Vyas family has been associated with the Kashi Vishwanath temple since the year 1551. The family chart starts from 1551 with Shatananda Vyas. After this, Sukhdev Vyas became its head in 1669 and he also carried forward the tradition of worship. After Sukhdev, Shivnath, Vishwanath, Shambhunath, Rukmani Devi, Mahadev Vyas, Kalika Vyas, Lakshmi Vyas, Raghunandan Vyas, Baijnath Vyas and then his daughter Rajkumari remained the eldest members of the Vyas family.
Also read- Hindus will be able to worship in Vyas Basement. What is its location in Gyanvapi?
Who got permission to worship in Vyasji basement?
While giving the decision of allowing puja in Vyasji basement, the court said that the puja should start within 7 days. The court said that the priest selected by the plaintiff and the Kashi Vishwanath Trust Board should get the puja, Rajbhog and worship of the idols located in the basement done. The district administration will have to make complete arrangements for this. The basement will be restored to its 1993 condition. The court said that till December 1993, there were sufficient grounds for worship in the basement. Things of religious importance of Hindu religion are present in the basement. The cellar door was removed after 1993. It is necessary to worship the idols present in the basement regularly.
Where is this basement in Gyanvapi Mosque?
Let us tell you that there is Gyanvapi Mosque very close to Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Although there is complete iron barricading on the mosque. There is a statue of Nandi ji in the premises of Kashi Vishwanath temple itself. Just in front of the Nandi Ji statue is the Vyasji basement in the Gyanvapi complex. This basement was also investigated in the ASI survey. In the ASI survey, many important evidences were also found regarding the existence of a temple in the basement.
After this decision, Hindu side’s lawyer Sudhir Tripathi, while explaining the other aspect related to the decision, said that the court has restored the situation of 1993 in the basement. Huzaifa Ahmadi, Supreme Court lawyer of Anjuman Arrangement Masjid Committee, said that after getting the copy of the order, we will immediately demand from the High Court to stay the order of Varanasi Court. We have the option of High Court and Supreme Court.
Also read- Gyanvapi case: When was the worship in Vyas basement stopped, what is the whole controversy?
(Input- Amit Kumar Singh/Varanasi)
