Varanasi: A district court has ordered that the keys of the basement located in the Gyanvapi complex here, known as “Vyas ji ka tehkhana”, be handed over to the district magistrate.
District Judge AK Vishwesh said in his order on Wednesday that there is a need for taking proper care of the basement of Vyas ji located at the southern end of the complex, Hindu side’s counsel Madan Mohan Yadav said. “Therefore, district magistrate of Varanasi is appointed receiver of Vyas ji’s basement,” the court said.
Yadav had earlier said that authorities had barricaded and locked the basement in 1993. Prior to it, the basement was used for worship by Somnath Vyas, a priest, Yadav had claimed in his plea.
Meanwhile, The Supreme Court on January 16 allowed a plea moved by Hindu women plaintiffs for cleaning the water tank in the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi that is located in an area that has been sealed.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered the cleaning of the water tank under the supervision of the Varanasi district magistrate.
The direction came after Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing in the court on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government, sought permission for the cleaning of the tank, saying there were dead fish in it. The top court also noted in its order that a similar plea has been filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the management body of the mosque, before a trial court in Varanasi.