Court refuses to stop namaz on basement roof in Gyanvapi case

Lucknow| The Varanasi court on Friday rejected the petition of the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, in which it was demanded that Muslims should be banned from offering namaz on the roof of Vyas basement. Hindu parties had cited “weak roof” as the reason for their demand, arguing that the roof could be damaged at any time. While Hindus offer prayers in Vyas’s basement, the Muslim side offers namaz on his terrace. In such a situation, this place has become an arena of faith as well as legal battle for both the communities.

The Hindu side argued in the court that if a large number of people of the Muslim community offer namaz on the roof of Vyas basement, then there will be a strong possibility that the roof may collapse, this could also be fatal. Therefore, it would be better if the Muslim community is banned from offering Namaz there.

The Hindu side expressed disappointment over the rejection of the petition by the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Hitesh Aggarwal. He told the court that the petition was rejected, but if ever the roof collapsed and a fatal accident occurred, who would be responsible for it? The Hindu side has now decided to approach the district court, which clearly shows that the legal battle in this case may drag on for a long time.

Akanksha Tiwari of Kanpur, Deepak Prakash Shukla, Amit Kumar and Suvid Praveen of Lucknow had approached the court on 16 December 2023 stating that Vyas’s basement was too old and dilapidated. Its pillars are also weak. The movement of Namazis here can lead to serious accidents, which can also prove fatal. In such a situation, it is very important that people of Muslim community should be banned from coming here and they should be stopped from offering Namaz here. The Muslim side had also filed a petition against the petition of the Hindu side. The Muslim side completely rejected all the arguments given by the Hindu side.