With multiple issues awaiting adjudication, the apex court says the plea for worship inside the sealed wuzukhana area is not suitable for immediate consideration
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to urgently hear a plea seeking permission for Hindu devotees to offer prayers at the alleged Shivling located inside the sealed area of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi during the holy month of Sawan.
Hearing the matter, a Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant advised the petitioners to wait, observing that the court was dealing with several pending matters. “Have some patience. There are so many issues pending. This is not the time for this kind of prayer,” the Bench told advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who appeared for the Hindu side.
The plea sought permission to perform special religious rituals inside the sealed wuzukhana area of the Gyanvapi complex. The petitioners told the court they were willing to comply with any conditions imposed by the judiciary, including security-related arrangements, if permission was granted.
The wuzukhana has remained sealed since 2022 under an interim order of the Supreme Court after a court-monitored survey reportedly found a structure that the Hindu side claims is a Shivling. The sealed status has continued pending adjudication of the dispute.
The hearing comes weeks after both the Hindu and Muslim parties declined the Supreme Court’s proposal to resolve the long-running dispute through mediation under its “Samadhan Samaroh” initiative, choosing instead to pursue adjudication through the regular judicial process.
The Hindu petitioners maintain that Gyanvapi stands at the site of a temple that they allege was demolished during the Mughal era. The Muslim side, however, contends that the disputed property is a legally recognised Waqf property and disputes the claims made by the Hindu petitioners.
The case has seen significant developments over the past year. In January 2024, the Varanasi District Court allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers at the Vyas Tehkhana, the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi complex. The Allahabad High Court later upheld that order after dismissing the appeal filed by the management committee and directed the Varanasi District Magistrate to facilitate the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust in conducting worship at the Vyas Tehkhana in accordance with the court’s directions.
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