Varanasi court reserves ruling on plea to worship 'shivling' in Gyanvapi Mosque

A Varanasi district court on Tuesday reserved its order on the plea by a prominent Hindu seer seeking permission to worship the 'shivling', which, he claimed, was found in the Gyanvapi Mosque during the last month's videography survey inside the Mosque.

District judge Ajai Krishna Vishwesh reserved his ruling on the application filed by Swami Avimukteshwarananda, who had been on an indefinite fast demanding permission to worship the 'shivling', after hearing the counsel of the petitioner.

The Swami, in his petition, has contended that the Hindus have a right to worship the 'shivling' and also that the area where it had allegedly been found must be protected.

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He also accused the district officials of not doing enough to secure the area inside the Mosque where the 'shivling' had been found.

The Swami also announced that he would form a 'Dharm Sena' to safeguard the traditions, and cultural and religious heritage of the Hindus in the country.

Meanwhile, the district court in Varanasi rejected a petition seeking direction from the police to lodge a case against one thousand Muslims and the office bearers of the Gyanvapi Mosque Committee for 'desecrating' the place where the 'shivling' was found.

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In another development, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court seeking the formation of a committee to study if the round-shaped article found in the Gyanvapi Mosque during the survey was a 'shivling' as claimed by the Hindus or a 'fountain' as claimed by the Muslims.

A district court had earlier ordered the sealing of the place inside the Gyanvapi Mosque after Hindu lawyers claimed that a 'shivling' was found in a pond whose water was used for 'wuzu' (cleansing of body parts before prayers) by the Muslims. The lawyers representing the Muslims, however, refuted the claim and said that what was being called a 'shivalinga' was in fact a 'fountain'.

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The supreme court had a few days back referred the matter back to the district court saying that a senior judge should hear the matter. It also allowed the Muslims to offer prayers inside the Mosque.

The premises had been a bone of contention between the two communities for the past several decades but there was a renewed clamour to ''take back'' the Kashi Vishwanath Temple premises by the saffron outfits after the favourable decision of the apex court in the Ram Temple case.