Gyanvapi dispute: SC rejects plea of mosque committee against transfer of case

The case regarding the dispute between the Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Gyanvapi mosque was transferred from a single-judge bench to another bench by Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker of the Allahabad High Court. On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in this decision. Anjuman Intezemia Masjid, the organization in charge of the Gyanvapi mosque, filed an appeal contesting the high court chief justice’s transfer order, but it was dismissed by a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

In an administrative decision, the Chief Justice of the High Court removed the Gyanvapi case from the single-judge bench that had been hearing it since 2021. The Masjid Committee was appealing the maintainability of the suits filed by certain Hindu worshippers who wanted to use the Gyanvapi mosque for their worship, which is prohibited by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991. The single judge was considering their argument. The CJI bench read the reasons for the case’s transfer and noted that it was not in favor of reading them aloud in public.

“We should not interfere with the order of the chief justice of the High Court. In High Courts, it is a very standard practice. This must lie in the realm of the Chief Justice of the High Court,” the bench observed.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, told the apex court that Justice Prakash Padia had completed the hearing in the matter and reserved the judgment, however, the Chief Justice withdrew the case from the judge, citing the reason that the judge could not have retained the matter despite the roster change.