Varanasi. The district court of Varanasi, UP is going to deliver an important verdict today. District Judge Dr. Ajay Krishna Vishwesh will pronounce the verdict on the petition of the Hindu side seeking the right to worship at the Gyanvapi Masjid today. The District Judge was authorized by the Supreme Court to look into the matter. The Muslim side had sought to quash the petition of the Hindu side in the Supreme Court. The Muslim side said that under the Places of Worship Act 1991, Hindus cannot make any claim regarding the mosque. At the same time, the Hindu side had said that the claim of right to worship at Gyanvapi cannot be quashed under the law. The District Judge of Varanasi is going to decide on whether Hindus have the right to claim or not. Earlier, on the orders of Civil Judge Senior Division of Varanasi, survey was done in Gyanvapi campus. During that survey, there was talk of Shivling-like shape in the middle of the vazukhana and the sign of Om and statues appearing in many places on the walls.
The Hindu side has sought the right of darshan and worship, referring to the history and the Puranas. They say that before 1991, there was permission to worship Maa Shringar Gauri and other Deities here. On behalf of the Hindu side, 5 women have applied in the court. Among them are Rakhi Singh of Delhi, Laxmi Devi of Varanasi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak. It is in the petition of all of them that there was a grand temple of Adivishwar Jyotirlinga near Dashashwamedh Ghat. It was established by Lord Shiva himself in Treta Yuga. They claim that this temple is presently on Gyanvapi Complex Plot No. 9130.
Apart from this, the claim states that there are visible and invisible deities in the old temple complex including Maa Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman, Nandiji. Muslim invaders damaged the temple several times from 1193-94. Hindus built temples at the same place time and again. In 1585, Raja Todarmal, the then Governor of Jaunpur, built a grand temple of Lord Shiva at the place of the existing Gyanvapi. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had issued a decree to demolish the temple in 1669 AD. After demolishing the ancient temple of Lord Adi Vishweshwara, a new one named ‘Gyanvapi Masjid’ was built there.