The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the February 26 Allahabad High Court order upholding the Varanasi district court’s decision to allow the Hindus to perform puja inside ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ located in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque.

Not interfering with the Varanasi district court’s order upheld by the High Court, a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, however, ordered maintaining   status quo qua the entire Gyanvapi Mosque area so that both the communities are able to offer ‘puja’ and ‘namaz’.

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Issuing notice to Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas – Acharya Ved Vyas Peeth Temple Varanasi and the Board of Trustees of Shree Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the bench ordered that only the priest appointed by the Vishwanath Temple Trust would perform puja at Vyas Tahkhana.

To obviate any scope of two communities coming face to face in the  GyanVapi Mosque, complex, the top court in its order said that the Hindus will enter the temple from South approach and pray in Tehkhana and the Muslims will enter the mosque from Northern side entrance to offer Namaz.

“At this stage, bearing in mind the fact that namaz is being offered by Muslim community unhindered after the district court and High Court orders, and that prayers in Tehkhana is limited to the Hindu priests, it is important to maintain the status quo, so that both the communities can perform religious worship in above terms,” the bench said in its order after a hearing that lasted for nearly two hours.

The top court order came as it noted the Muslims were offering prayer unhindered and the Hindus were offering of ‘puja’ was confined to the area of Tahkhana only that too by a priest appointed by the Kashi Vishwanath temple located in the neighbourhood of the Gyanvapi mosque.

“Are we correct to say that prayers in the South (cellar) do not impact (Muslim) prayers In North? If this is correct… we can say let no further change happen in the status quo further. We say let namaz continue and worship in south celler can continue,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said during the hearing.

Posting the matter for hearing at the end of the July, the court gave both – the Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas – Acharya Ved Vyas Peeth Temple Varanasi and the Board of Trustees of Shree Kashi Vishwanath Temple – time till April 30, 2024, to file their replies  to the petitions by the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, challenging the February 28, 2024, Allahabad High Court order   endorsing the Varanasi District Court’s order allowing  puja at Vyas temple  located in a cellar beneath  Gyanvapi mosque.

The Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order contending that the administration had acted in “hot haste” soon after the Varanasi Court had ordered the performing of ‘Puja’ at Vyas Tehkhana. The top court was told that in a ‘hot haste’ district administration did everything in just four hours and  ‘Puja’ was performed at mid-night when  the Mosque Committee had no way  to approach the High Court.

On January 31, Varanasi district court allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque. The district court had directed the Varanasi district magistrate to make arrangements within seven days for ‘puja’ to be performed by the Hindu side and a poojari nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.