Hindu deity worship in Gyanvapi mosque gets nod

Varanasi: The Varanasi district court on Wednesday granted a priest the right to worship Hindu deities in the Gyanvapi mosque cellar, Hindu side counsel Madan Mohan Yadav said.

The order was passed by judge A K Vishvesha who directed the district magistrate to make arrangements within seven days to facilitate puja there by Shailendra Kumar Pathak, Yadav said.

The prayers will be facilitated by the Kashi Vishwanath Trust, which manages the Kashi Vishwanath temple which stands adjacent to the mosque.

Hindu litigants claim the mosque was built after demolishing a part of the temple.

According to the petition filed by Pathak, his mater nal grandfather, priest Somnath Vyas, used to perform prayers there till 1993 when the cellar was closed by the authorities.

Pathak had sought the right to worship the deities there. Yadav said the barricades before the Nandi statue in front of the 'wazu khana' -- where where ablutions are performed before offering namaz -- in the mosque complex will be removed to make way for the petitioner to perform puja.

The Hindu side counsel said the puja of deities there was stopped during the rule of chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1993 in response the Babari Mosque demolition on December 6, 1992.

The Muslim side has argued that the cellar is part of the mosque complex, and permission should not be granted.

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) president Alok Kumar welcomed the court's decision. (PTI)