Gyanvapi: Petitioners' claims not factual, incorrect says mosque's side

Varanasi: The Muslim side in the Gyanvapi mosque case told the Varanasi District Court on Thursday that the petitioners' claims are incorrect in facts and have no supporting evidence, The Indian Express reported.

The court was hearing the plea that challenged the maintainability of the petition seeking the right to worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, which is located by the outer wall of the Gyanvapi complex.

Counsel for Anjuman Intezamia Masjid management committee, Abhay Nath Yadav, said that petitioners' claims are barred by many legal provisions. They also said that their arguments are not completed, and they wish to continue them at the next hearing on May 30.

The first day of the hearing started with 27 lawyers from different parties, the five Hindu women petitioners and six defendants. The case was being heard by District Court judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha after the Supreme Court's direction last week.

Meanwhile, on May 30, a fast-track court is to hear a petition that sought permission to worship a "Shivling" that is claimed to be found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex during a videography survey mandated by a local court. On May 17, after the SC asked the District Magistrate to secure the area where the "Shivling" was claimed to have been found, the District Court transferred the petition to the fast-track court on Wednesday. It was after a plea by an outfit called Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, which sought a ban on the entry of Muslims into the Gyanvapi complex and handing over of the entire area to Hindus.