In a recent development, the Allahabad High Court has declined to halt the Varanasi District Court's decision permitting the Kashi Vishwanath Trust to conduct prayers at the Vyas tehkhana, a cellar within the Gyanvapi Mosque. This decision serves as a setback for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, representing the Muslim side.

However, the High Court has granted permission for the Intezamia Committee to amend their petition and contest the appointment of the District Magistrate as the receiver of the cellar. The court scheduled the next hearing for February 6 and instructed the Uttar Pradesh authorities to maintain law and order at the Gyanvapi mosque site.

During the hearing, advocate SFA Naqvi, representing the Intezamia committee, criticized the haste with which the District Magistrate of Varanasi took control of the Vyas tehkhana and initiated prayers there on January 31. Naqvi argued against the urgency of the situation, stating lack of evidence suggesting continuous prayers by the Hindu side.

Naqvi also highlighted the chaos caused by the district court's order in the city, claiming it favored the Hindu side in an interim application, which, according to him, violates legal norms.

On the other hand, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the original petitioner Shailendra Phatak Vyas, argued that the appeal filed by the Intezamia Committee lacked merit as it failed to challenge the order appointing the District Magistrate as the receiver of the cellar.

The original suit, initiated by Shailendra Phatak Vyas, asserts the right to conduct prayers in the cellar, which had been discontinued since 1993 due to government barricading. Vyas seeks permission to resume the religious practice.

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