A Varanasi fast track court on Monday barred the media from entering the courtroom while hearing a petition seeking the removal of the Gyanvapi mosque.
A post shared on Twitter read, “After #Gyanvapi hearing before District Judge Varanasi, now MEDIA STANDS BARRED from covering the hearing before a Fast Track Court in Varanasi on another civil suit seeking removal of the Gyanvapi mosque #KashiVishwanathTemple #MediaAccess “
Advocates for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM), the Muslim side in the Gyanvapi mosque dispute, will continue their arguments challenging the maintainability of the case on Monday.
“In the May 26 hearing, our team had explained how the claims and demands of the women plaintiffs cannot be allowed as they had not produced any evidence in support of their petition while their averments in several paragraphs of their petition are contradictory,” AIM advocate Abhay Nath Yadav said.
On May 26, the district judge had started hearing the case on the issue of its maintainability in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer Hari Shankar Jain said that his team will be in court on Monday though he is not sure whether the arguments of AIM advocates would conclude, and they would get an opportunity to counter them.
AIM advocates are also likely to mention how the Gyanvapi mosque is covered under the Protection of Places of Worship Act, 1991, besides other laws and orders of the Supreme Court.
Plaintiffs Rakhi Singh of Delhi and Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak had filed the petition in the civil court on August 18, 2021.
On April 8, the court appointed an advocate commissioner for the survey and videography of the Gyanvapi mosque.
(With Inputs from IANS)
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