The Varanasi district court on Thursday asked the masjid committee to file its objections to the petition requesting carbon dating on the alleged Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi Mosque complex. The court is slated to hear the matter next on September 29.
After the prayer to allow carbon dating on the Shivling filed, the court directed the opposing parties to submit their application against the plaintiff’s plea. Later on in the day, the Gyanvapi mosque committee moved an objection plea, the committee’s legal counsel Akhlaq Ahmed said.
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Out of 15 persons, the court accepted applications of eight persons to become parties to the dispute, said Hindu petitioners’ advocate Sudhir Tripathi.
Five Hindu women filed a petition before the court to allow them to worship the Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the outer wall of the mosque compound, which lies adjacent to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple.
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On September 12, the district court held that the petitions filed by the Hindu women are maintainable as their right to worship is not even remotely connected to the Places of Worship Act 1991. The court further said that the petitions did not challenge the religious character of the mosque and simply sought permission to worship the Hindu deities on the outer side of the complex.
Ruling that their right to worship the Ma Shringar Gauri on the outer wall of the masjid compound as maintainable, the court observed that such form of worship had continued till 1993. Dismissing the argument that the masjid complex belongs to the Waqf board, the court ruled that the Waqf Act of 1995 is not applicable as well.