Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the order passed by a local court in Varanasi to seal a pond after a ‘Shivling’ was reportedly found in the complex is a violation of Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act,1991.
Owaisi, who is also the chief of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), further asked how a lower court can give an order based solely on a petitioner's claim when the commissioner it had appointed is yet to submit its survey report.
A video shared by news agency ANI showed Owaisi citing a reference the Supreme Court had made to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act ,1991 while delivering the Babri Masjid verdict to back his claims.
“If you read Paragraph 83 of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Babri Masjid case, you can see that it had said the 1991 Act is a part of the basic structure…How can the lower court go against the intent of Parliament behind passing the Act and the Supreme Court?” the MP said in Hindi.
“How can the court pass the order that a 'Shivling' has been found when the survey commissioner did not submit the report… and there was no one to defend the Muslims? This is a clear violation of the 1991 Act that changes the nature and character of the mosque," the AIMIM leader said.
Owaisi also reiterated a statement made by an advocate of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, that petitioners' claim about a ‘Shivling’ is misleading since the structure found is actually a “fountain”.
“There is only a fountain in the wajookhana in the Gyanvapi mosque. The structure, which the petitioners are claiming to be a Shivling, is a fountain. It is a misleading claim," the lawyer had said.
Earlier in the day, the Varanasi court ordered district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma “to seal the area (the pond) and prohibit the entry of any person to the area”. The direction came after an advocate filed a petition in the court of civil judge senior Ravi Kumar Diwakar seeking the area be protected.
The civil court had appointed a commissioner to conduct the survey and videography of the Gyanvapi mosque and complete the task by May 17. It was later challenged by the masjid committee before the Allahabad high court, which dismissed the appeal on April 21. The three-day survey was concluded on Monday amid tight security.
Special advocate commissioner Vishal Singh said a “detailed report” of the survey proceedings is being prepared. “We are trying to submit it in the Court on May 17,” he added.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has agreed to hear the matter on Tuesday (May 17). A bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud will hear the masjid committee's plea against allowing the court-appointed commissioner to conduct the survey.
The Gyanvapi mosque where a group of women have sought worship rights is located near the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple.
(With inputs from agencies)