Varanasi Court Allows Hindus to Offer Prayers in Gyanvapi Mosque Cellar, All You Need To Know About ‘Vyasji ka Tehkhana’

Advocate Yadav said the district administration will make arrangements for performing puja and it will be facilitated by the Kashi Vishwanath Trust.

Written by: Victor Dasgupta Edited by: Victor Dasgupta

Updated: January 31, 2024, 6:44 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/varanasi-court-allows-hindus-to-offer-prayer-in-gyanvapi-mosque-cellar-all-you-need-to-know-about-vyasji-ka-tehkhana-6694939/ Copy

In this Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023 file photo, Members of the Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) team conduct a scientific survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex, in Varanasi. A Varanasi court on Wednesday ruled that the ASI report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex survey will be given to both sides while making it clear that the report should not be made public, the counsel for the Hindu litigants said. (PTI Photo)

Varanasi: The Varanasi district court on Wednesday granted the family of a priest the right to worship Hindu deities in the Gyanvapi mosque cellar, Hindu side counsel Madan Mohan Yadav said. The order was given by district court judge A K Vishvesh. According to the petition, priest Somnath Vyas used to perform prayers there till 1993 when the cellar was closed by the authorities. Advocate Yadav said the district administration will make arrangements for performing puja and it will be facilitated by the Kashi Vishwanath Trust.

Shailendra Kumar Pathak, maternal grandson of Somnath Vyas, had sought the right to worship deities there.

What is Vyasji ka Tehkhana?

The Gyanvapi mosque has four ‘tehkhanas’ (cellars) in the basement. Out of the four cellars, one is still in possession of the Vyas family who used to live here. Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas filed a lawsuit against Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which manages the mosque, urging the court to appoint the district magistrate as the receiver of the cellar.

Earlier, the Court on Wednesday had issued a notice to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, on a plea challenging a Varanasi court’s refusal to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the ‘wazu khana’ area in the mosque complex.

The order was passed by Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal on a revision petition filed by Rakhi Singh, who is one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri worshipping suit, which is presently pending before the Varanasi district court.

Talking to news agency ANI, Advocate Anupam Dwivedi, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case, said, “We have moved before the HC on behalf of Rakhi Singh…We moved against the order, given by the District judge. The District judge cancelled our application for the ASI survey of the ‘wazukhana’…HC has admitted our writ & issued notice to all the parties concerned for the hearing…”