Puja to continue in Gyanvapi

Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Monday refused to put a stay on the ongoing Puja inside the southern cellar of Varanasi-based Gyanvapi mosque.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal of Allahabad High Court delivered the judgment on Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) appeal challenging the order of Varanasi District Judge allowing Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the ‘Vyas Ka Tehkhana’ area in the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

AIMC, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, moved the high court on February 2 within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear its plea against the Varanasi district court order and asking it to approach the high court.

The Varanasi district court had ruled on January 31 that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque.